Nosu Ramen

What Nosu Ramen does

Nosu Ramen is a single-location, Japanese-inspired ramen restaurant operating in downtown Golden, Colorado, founded in February 2020 by Brandon Bortles and Noah Heaney, both previously involved with Abejas and Miners Saloon. The restaurant serves local residents, families, students, and visitors to the downtown Golden area, particularly foot traffic from the nearby Coors Brewery. Its menu centers on ramen bowls priced at $19 (including Miso Ramen and Pork Belly Ramen) and shareable small plates ranging from $12 to $14 (bao buns, gyoza, karaage, shishito peppers, and other seasonal items), with Celiac and Vegan modifications available on core offerings. Operating hours are limited to evening service, Tuesday through Sunday, with the restaurant closed on Mondays.

The business operates as a direct-to-consumer restaurant with two principal channels: a dine-in experience at 700 12th Street Suite 150, and online ordering for takeout via the Toasttab platform. The restaurant's website is built and hosted on Popmenu, which provides digital menu management, review collection, and accessibility compliance (with Level Access). A Toasttab-powered gift card program is also offered. No proprietary technology, mobile app, or franchise model is in use, and the technology stack is entirely composed of third-party SaaS tools standard to the casual dining segment.

Nosu Ramen generates revenue exclusively through food and beverage sales, with no subscription, membership, or wholesale channels. Pricing is per-unit (pay-as-you-go) with no bundling or recurring programs. The business is privately held by its two co-founders, has no parent company, no subsidiaries, no disclosed institutional investment, and no reported funding rounds. Geographic operations are confined to a single storefront in Golden, CO, with no expansion, franchise, or multi-unit footprint disclosed in the available source material.

Name

Nosu Ramen

Legal name

Nosu Ramen

Website

https://nosuramen.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nosu Ramen is a single-location Japanese-inspired ramen restaurant in downtown Golden, CO, founded in 2020. It serves local residents, families, students, and visitors with ramen bowls, shareable small plates, and seasonal menu items via dine-in and Toasttab online ordering.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Japanese Ramen Restaurant

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

All-Day Dining Restaurants (THAFACAJ)

Keywords

• Japanese ramen restaurant
• Shareable small plates
• Bao buns dining
• Ramen bowls
• Japanese-inspired cuisine

Headquarters

HQ city

Golden

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Food and Beverage Sales: Revenue generated from selling prepared food and beverages to dine-in and takeout customers. The restaurant offers small plates, ramen bowls, and seasonal menu items with pricing ranging from $12-$19 for small plates and $19 for ramen entrees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Nosu Ramen is a Japanese-inspired ramen restaurant operating a single dine-in location in downtown Golden, Colorado, serving signature ramen bowls (priced at $19) and shareable small plates such as bao buns, gyoza, karaage, and blistered shishito peppers (priced at $12-$14). The restaurant supplements dine-in service with online ordering for takeout via Toasttab and offers a rotating seasonal menu that includes items like tuna poke and crispy chicken katsu.

Product overview

Nosu Ramen is a Japanese-inspired ramen restaurant offering a focused menu centered on ramen bowls and shareable small plates. The core offerings include signature ramen varieties (Miso Ramen, Pork Belly Ramen) and small plates (bao buns, gyoza, karaage, shishito peppers). The restaurant positions itself as offering traditional Japanese fare with a playful twist, featuring rotating seasonal ramen bowls and summer favorites like tuna poke and crispy chicken katsu.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Miso Ramen A signature ramen bowl featuring tofu, edamame, carrots, king oyster mushroom, and pickled red cabbage, priced at $19. Available in Celiac-friendly and Vegan modifications for dine-in and takeout customers.
• Pork Belly Ramen A signature ramen bowl featuring pork belly, bok choy, shiitake mushroom, bamboo shoots, and a poached egg, priced at $19. Listed among the restaurant's most popular items.
• Pork Belly or Duck Bao Buns Steamed bao buns filled with pork belly or duck, served with sriracha, hoisin, cucumber, and scallion, priced at $14. Designed as a shareable small plate for dine-in customers.
• Vegetable Bao Bun Vegan bao bun filled with panko eggplant, butternut squash, and Thai basil, priced at $14. Provides a plant-based shareable option for diners.
• Pork Gyoza Pan-fried pork dumplings, steamed first then pan-fried for texture, priced at $13. Sold as a shareable small plate.
• Karaage Japanese fried chicken served with spicy mayo and house pickles, priced at $14. Marketed as a shareable small plate.
• Blistered Shishito Peppers Blistered shishito peppers served with miso vinaigrette and nutritional yeast, priced at $12. Marked Gluten-Free and Vegan on the menu.
• Crab Dumplings Dumplings filled with carrot, green onion, ginger, and garlic, served with a spicy Szechuan sauce, priced at $14.
• Shrimp & Tofu Eggrolls Eggrolls filled with shrimp, tofu, napa cabbage, carrot, and ginger, served with a sweet chili sauce, priced at $14.
• Sesame Braised Cabbage Cabbage braised with tahini honey tare, Thai chili, and lotus root, priced at $13. Marked Gluten-Free and Vegan.
• Tomorokoshi Sweet corn dish prepared with miso, umami powder, and togarashi, priced at $14. Marked Vegan and Gluten-Free.

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ToasttabcoreTechnology or IntegrationToasttab provides the online ordering and payment processing platform for Nosu Ramen. Customers can place takeout orders directly through https://order.toasttab.com/online/nosu-ramen-700-12th-st-150
• PopmenucoreTechnology or IntegrationPopmenu provides the website platform, digital menu management, review system, and accessibility compliance tools for Nosu Ramen's online presence. The website is built on Popmenu's platform.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Wagamama: Asian-inspired casual dining chain with noodle bowls and shareable small plates. Benchmarks the broader casual-Japanese competitive set and operational scale Nosu would face on expansion.
• Marugame Udon: Japanese noodle chain with a similar 'Japanese comfort food at accessible price' positioning. Comparable in category (Japanese noodles), price tier, and casual service format.
• Ippudo: Globally scaled Japanese ramen chain with broad menu and strong brand recognition. Relevant as a benchmark for ramen category economics and competitive pressure on independents.
• Jinya Ramen Bar: Multi-unit ramen chain offering a similar Japanese-ramen-plus-small-plates menu at comparable price points. While far larger and chain-operated, its core product overlap makes it the most relevant competitive benchmark for Nosu's positioning.

Direct peers

• Slurping Turtle: Japanese-inspired casual restaurant with a ramen-heavy menu plus shareable small plates (gyoza, bao-style buns). Closely aligned in cuisine mix, price tier, and casual-dine-in format.
• Ramen Tatsu-Ya: Austin-based ramen shop with rotating seasonal bowls and Japanese small plates. Operates at a similar independent, ramen-anchored scale with comparable menu structure.
• Ivan Ramen: Single-origin ramen shop built around a chef-founder's signature bowls. Closely mirrors Nosu's founder-driven, single-location ramen identity and Japanese-accented menu.
• Bone Kettle: Independent ramen-focused concept with a small-plates program, sharing Nosu's positioning around Japanese comfort food with elevated, shareable sides at a similar price point.
• Daikaya: Two-story ramen and Japanese izakaya concept with a focused ramen menu and shareable small plates. Highly comparable in cuisine focus and small-plate–led dining format.

Emerging players

• Kinton Ramen: Multi-unit ramen concept with a menu structure (ramen bowls plus Japanese appetizers) directly comparable to Nosu's offering, useful as a peer for unit-economics and growth benchmarking.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nosu-ramen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nosu Ramen