(photo: Cassidy Dawn Graves)
A stretch of Evergreen Avenue in Bushwick now contains far less flavorful broth, as celebrated ramen shop Chuko seems to have closed its newest location there. It’s been listed as closed on Yelp, and the only location currently on their website is their shop on Vanderbilt Avenue.
When we covered the opening of Chuko Bushwick, owner Jamison Blankenship told us it was an arduous journey to get the restaurant open in the first place, explaining the nearly four-year process was burdened with logistical issues related to the Department of Buildings. The outpost was initially slated to launch a year and a half prior to its actual opening in May 2017, and now only a little over a year later, those long-awaited Bushwick doors have shut. The DOB’s website states that 144 Evergreen Avenue still has an active violation related to construction that was issued the same month as their opening.
Blankenship also told B+B they were hoping to have their liquor license in the weeks after opening (in the meantime, stuffed animals filled the shelves as placeholders), though that ultimately didn’t materialize; a report from Community Board 4’s monthly meeting in April noted they were scheduled to discuss their license but “notified the Community Board office that they were not ready to attend.”
Chuko isn’t the only place on Evergreen between Jefferson and Troutman Streets to have ceased operations in the past year. Their former next-door neighbor, the Russian coffee shop Dillingers, closed last October after a hefty health code violation, according to Patch, and had previously been cited for “illegal occupation of the building’s cellar.”
We’ve reached out to the Chuko team for comment, and will update the post with any response.
Those who are seeking to slurp can still visit Chuko’s original location in Prospect Heights, serving bowls of ramen and small bites like crispy Brussels sprouts and okonomiyaki tots for lunch and dinner daily.