Wagamama Ramen Chain to Open First New York Location Next Year

Popular Japanese food chain Wagamama is finally making its New York debut, the Post's Steve Cuozzo reports. The London-based company will open next year in a three-story, 7,000 square-foot space at 210 Fifth Ave., overlooking Madison Square Park. Wagamama — which name means "naughty child" in Japanese — has 140 locations across the globe, including four in Boston, but this will be its first in New York City. Chef and restaurateur Alan Yau opened in 1992, and the company sold for $350 million in 2011, Cuozzo writes. It serves a variety of Japanese-inspired foods, from ramen and teppenyaki to curries and donburi. About five years ago, the company said it planned to open a whopping 650 locations in the U.S., but since then, it's only opened four in the Boston area. It even signed a lease in D.C. and ditched it after three years in flux. Still, Wagamama's international popularity has served it well — revenue recently went from $241 million to $291 million in a year.