Has Tampa’s Ichicoro Ramen closed?

TAMPA — One of Tampa’s most popular restaurants has closed, at least temporarily.

On both Tuesday and Wednesday morning, a sign on the door outside Ichicoro Ramen in Seminole Heights informed diners that the restaurant was closed for “today.”

This followed reports to the Tampa Bay Times from readers that the restaurant closed abruptly last week. Google also has the restaurant listed as “permanently closed,” and comments on the user review website Yelp cited the spot as having closed “indefinitely.”

Calls to Ichicoro owner Noel Cruz were not immediately returned.

Cruz first opened Ichicoro in 2015, and the restaurant was quickly catapulted to wild success, with long waits for a seat at the tiny restaurant. The spot pivoted to a takeout-only model during the pandemic but had since reopened for dine-in service. Last year, Ichicoro was one of three restaurants in Tampa to receive the Bib Gourmand distinction from the celebrated Michelin Guide.

In 2017, Cruz opened an offshoot of Ichicoro, called Ichicoro Ane, in downtown St. Petersburg’s Station House building. That restaurant closed at the onset of the pandemic and never reopened.

Cruz has had a lot on his plate the past few years. He opened Gangchu, a Korean fried chicken spot and cocktail bar in Seminole Heights in 2021. In the coming months, he plans to open 3 Corners Pizza, a New York-style pizzeria and slice shop on the bottom of the Heron building at Tampa’s Water Street development, and Ichicoro Imoto, a new restaurant pitched as the “the next evolution of Ichicoro.” No word yet on where plans stand for either spot.