UNIVERSITY CITY 鈥 Steven Pursley, the chef and owner of the acclaimed Lindenwood Park ramen restaurant Menya Rui, will open a new restaurant called Kishimoto Mendo in the heart of the Delmar Loop.
Kishimoto Mendo will occupy the storefront at 6394 Delmar Boulevard. The location, across Westgate Avenue from Blueberry Hill, is currently vacant and was previously occupied by a Jamaican restaurant.
Pursley confirmed his plans for Kishimoto Mendo on Monday but said he was not ready yet to discuss details about the restaurant.
He did say Kishimoto Mendo will not feature the same ramen menu as Menya Rui.
Expect more details about the restaurant, including its opening date, in the coming months, Pursley said.
Pursley spent his childhood in both his mother鈥檚 native Okinawa, Japan, and in Missouri. After college, he returned to Okinawa and over the next three years worked in four different ramen restaurants there and in the city of Matsuyama.
He opened Menya Rui in April 2022 at 3453 Hampton Avenue. It features noodles made at the restaurant, rare in 最新杏吧原创, and ramen broths that are lighter-bodied than the pork-based tonkotsu style common elsewhere in the metro area.
Among its acclaim, Menya Rui is a three-time STL 100 honoree, ranked No. 24 in the 2025 edition of the annual list.
