Japanese comfort food is headed to Mineola.
On track to join a strip mall of restaurants that includes Panera, Chipotle, Luigi’s Pizza, Mogu Modern Chinese Kitchen and soon 7th St. Burger, Ikedo will fill the currently empty storefront with ramen, sushi, gyozas, noodles, donburi, fried rice, tofu and tempura in September.
Mimi Chi, the restaurant’s founder and owner, said her love of Japanese culture and cuisine, as well as her time as a student in Japan, motivated her to open Ikedo.
“When I was younger, I was obsessed with Japanese culture,” Chi said. “When I lived in Japan, the food just stuck with me. My passion for food, and especially Japanese food, is just part of who I am.”
Chi, a former real estate agent, said that she and her family owned and worked in restaurants while she was growing up on Long Island, another factor that inspired her to start her own.
She said she is constantly changing her offerings to accommodate her customer base, especially the local students, as she remembers eating affordable Japanese comfort food as a student herself in Japan fondly.
“I started off as a ramen restaurant, really only focusing on ramen,” Chi said. “Over the years, because we’re located next to the high school in Port Washington, I came to discover that our students really liked our side menu, like rice bowls and boba tea.”
“I tried to test out many different Japanese comfort foods that I enjoyed when I lived in Japan as a student and was only able to afford regular, more convenient types of food,” she continued. “I wanted to make sure those are offered to the students. I really try to roll out different things and expand my menu based on my personal interest or my experience.”
Ikedo’s menu still includes ramen, but also a wide array of build-your-own noodle and rice, or donburi, bowls, stir-fries, salads, bao buns and boba tea. There’s also a fully vegan menu, ensuring those whose choices are plant-based can also enjoy traditional Japanese comfort.
Chi opened her first location in Port Washington, where she lives, in September 2020. That opening was delayed, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which she said hit right when she was about to open her doors.
“I ended up having to delay opening for eight or nine months. When we did open it was takeout only because of restrictions from COVID,” Chi said. “It was very tough to open up a restaurant in the middle of COVID, but we did it and we survived.”
Now that they’ve made it through the hardest years, Chi said she’s excited to expand Ikedo’s offerings and take advantage of the larger space in this second location, which is almost twice as big as the first.
For this location, she plans to divide the restaurant in half thematically. One half, painted white, will function as a cafe and grab-and-go spot, where people can come in, pick up and order take-out or boba tea, or sit for a bit at one of the few tables and chairs.
The other half, painted back, will be home to a new concept for Ikedo – a handroll bar. Chi said she plans to put a 24-seat bar in the other half of the restaurant. Chairs will surround a large table, which will have an opening in the middle, where a sushi chef will be making to-order seafood and vegan hand rolls in front of customers.
“Hand rolls are not as fancy as sashimi or nikiri sushi, but they’re just as delicious,” Chi said, adding that it aligns with the overall concept of her restaurant providing affordable, casual food. “We can provide the service quicker without the super fancy technical aspect of the sushi.”
In this section of the restaurant, waiters will come around and take the orders of those sitting at the bar so that customers can also order food and drink off the larger menu as well, including sake, a Japanese alcohol.
“This is a new concept. I don’t think anyone else has done this in Long Island,” Chi said. “I’m excited for it. I hope everyone can find something that they really, really love.”
