Hokkaido Ramen Santouka to open second Vancouver spot on West Broadway

There’s some great news, ramen addicts.

If you’ve ever waited in long lineups at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka’s Robson Street location for its top-notch noodles and broth, you will soon have a second option.

As Vancouver’s ramen rage continues to spread across the city, the Japan-based chain Santouka, which opened its first Vancouver location at 1690 Robson Street, is planning to open a second location at 558 West Broadway near Cambie Street.

The new location will be larger than the Robson one, with 44 seats (compared to 36 at Robson). There will also be a few items exclusive to the Broadway location.

The shop will compete against other ramen joints in the area, including Benkei Ramen (545 West Broadway) and Menya (401 West Broadway), not to mention the hot-pot spot Nabebugyo.

The chain started in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan. The only other location in Canada is in Toronto. It also has locations in the U.S., Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand.

The opening date hasn’t been announced yet but we’ll keep you updated when it becomes available.

Will this new location help to alleviate the long lineups at the Robson Street location? Or just attract more lineups? Stay tuned and hopefully we'll find out soon enough.