By Mike Hazlip —
A popular authentic ramen noodle restaurant in Roseville has announced plans to soon open a second restaurant in Citrus Heights.
Fukumi Ramen is a family owned and operated restaurant serving authentic Japanese comfort food in Roseville at Pleasant Grove Boulevard and Fairway Drive. The new Fukumi will open in the space formerly occupied by Jimmy John’s at Sunrise Boulevard and Madison Avenue.
Fukumi features Hakata style ramen, described as “simple ramen [that] consists of a silky smooth pork bone broth (tonkotsu) with extra thin noodles and minimal toppings.”
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Owner Sylbi Song said she started the business with husband, Han, earlier this year. Sylbi said her husband develops the recipes and does most of the cooking at the restaurant. Song said they chose Citrus Heights for their second location because of the amount of activity and restaurants in the area.
Song said her husband gained experience in the culinary industry when the family lived in Las Vegas, before moving to the Sacramento region in 2019 to raise a family. The couple opened their Roseville restaurant on Feb. 19, 2020, just weeks before COVID-19 shutdowns.
Although being open less than a year, the restaurant has already earned more than 175 reviews on Yelp, averaging a rating of 4.5-out-of-5 stars.
Despite the economic difficulties caused by the shutdown orders, Song said it has created opportunity for their restaurant. She said the landlord was willing to work with them to bring them in as tenants.
Song said it is important to give back to the community and hired a customer with a developing interest in photography to photograph the main dishes for their social media.
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“I’m all about connecting with our guests, and use local resources instead of going to big companies,” Song said. We received so much from this community, we really would love to give back somehow. We want to work together with everyone.”
Song describes the food as “Japanese street food, a quick bite to eat.” Although it may sound simple, Song says the broth must be boiled for 72 hours and the ingredients for the main dishes are made from scratch.
The couple hope to open the Citrus Heights location in the beginning of next year, and are waiting for the permits to be approved. Once open, Song hopes Fukumi will give Citrus Heights customers a taste of true Japanese ramen.
“We are very close to authentic Japanese ramen,” she said. “We have a lot of Japanese customers and they love us because it’s so close to their homeland’s food. We are here to introduce authentic Japanese cuisine.”
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