Takkii Ramen to open location on West Main Street this fall

A new Japanese eatery is preparing to open in downtown Riverhead this fall.

Takkii Ramen, a privately owned chain that launched in Pennsylvania and has restaurants in Syosset and Smithtown, will be located at 124 West Main St.

There are only a handful of Japanese eateries in the area and the chain’s owners view Riverhead as an ideal opportunity to “get our foot in the door out east,” general manager Ardian Gjurkaj said.

“We’re going to be bringing a very different type of menu than what our competitors have to offer,” he added.

The new location will feature a variety of Japanese ramen and rice bowl dishes, which are also known as donburi. The restaurant will also have an izakaya, typically described as a casual place for after-work drinking, according to Mr. Gjurkaj, similar to a traditional Irish pub or Spanish tapas bar.

There will be table seating for roughly 30 to 35 customers, with meals priced around $20 to $25 on average. The restaurant will also feature robotic runners that will assist the human waitstaff similar to those used at its sister location, Rakkii Ramen, in Smithtown, which is also currently managed by Mr. Gjurkaj.

Mr. Gjurkaj will be looking to hire servers and cooks ahead of the opening, he said.

“We already have certain people lined up that have quite a number of years’ experience in this industry,” he said. “I have some people that I’m going to be bringing in as well and we will perhaps look for people in the community, depending on the situation at the time.”

There is no set date for the opening as they are working through the permit process with the town, Mr. Gjurkaj said. 

“The site that we’ve chosen has never been used as a restaurant before, so the permit process is a little bit more complicated, but we are looking at around the fall to open.”

Although Mr. Gjurkaj doesn’t reside in Riverhead, he worked in the area years ago and is familiar with it. The business has plans to be involved with the community, he said.

“We look to do [charitable] things in the community, help support the local school, local police department and fire department. We do hope to be involved in the community.”