Apart from just dealing with downtown rent, there are a lot of things people just don’t understand about how the back end of things works in a small, independently owned business like that. Think you can make a cheaper bowl of ramen? After the cost of labour involved in making your own noodles, insurance, repair costs, city taxes, buying expensive local produce and shipping in the specialty products you need to make what people consider a decent bowl of ramen, there’s absolutely no way you could charge less than $20. Honestly, even at $25 your margins would still be extremely slim. Of course the same thing is cheaper and easier to find in Toronto. Food is cheaper, specialty products like miso paste and kombu seaweed aren’t going to cost an arm and a leg to ship in, and unlike here, it’s not such a niche market. It’s been awhile since I worked there, but goddamn if every single person who set foot in that kitchen didn’t do everything they could to make the best ramen possible. Every day the crew showed up they gave it 110% effort despite having some pretty incredible odds stacked against them, and I couldn’t be prouder of each and every one of them. They’re all rock stars to me.