a cursed location?
Ramen joint that served super hot broth will shutter after only 18 months
Kazzan Ramen will close January 24.
A Heights-adjacent ramen shop will soon serve its final bowl of soup. Kazzan Ramen & Bar will close this Saturday, January 24.
Located at 191 Heights Blvd., Kazzan was only the second American location of a restaurant that’s based in Osaka, Japan. Named for the Japanese word for “volcano,” Kazzan distinguished itself from other ramen restaurants by serving its noodles in a stone bowl that’s heated to 350 degrees Celsius — more than 650 degrees Fahrenheit. When the broth is poured tableside through a cylindrical top, the steam shoots out like a volcanic eruption. The menu also includes shareable plates like gyoza and rice bowls.
Diners who visit the restaurant during its final week of operations will receive 50-percent off all alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, sake, cocktails, and spirits.
Google lists its other U.S. location in Los Angeles as “temporarily closed.” A representative declined to comment on the reason for the closure but confirmed that Kazzan is not looking for another Houston location at this time.
Notably, Kazzan is the fourth restaurant to occupy the space at 191 Heights. Originally, it was home to Bradley’s Fine Diner, a short-lived New American concept from Las Vegas-based chef Bradley Ogden. Next up was Star Fish, an ambitious seafood restaurant from the late Houston restaurateur Lee Ellis’ Cherry Pie Hospitality.
When Sambrooks Hospitality acquired Ellis’ restaurants, it rebooted the space as 1751 Sea & Bar, a seafood concept that closed in 2023. Kazzan opened in July 2024, so its tenure only lasted about a year and a half.
So, yes, restaurant obsessives, the time has come to discuss whether the location is “cursed.”
Kazzan isn’t the only ramen restaurant in the area to close recently. Nearby Ninja Ramen shuttered at the end of December after 11 years. The space has been claimed by Yuma, a Cuban and Brazilian-inspired sandwich pop-up that will open its first brick-and-mortar location later this spring.
