Tenmomi Is Closing in Rutherford on Friday and Returning to Nutley With a Bakery
One of North Jersey's best ramen shops is packing up again. Tenmomi announced on Instagram that its final day of service inside the Williams Center in Rutherford is this Friday, October 30, with hours from noon to 8 PM, closing out a run that only started in March.
If you never found it, that was kind of the problem. The shop sits in a basement space at 15 Sylvan Street beneath the arts center, and chef KC Gonzalez told NorthJersey.com this week exactly why he is leaving: the location forced Sunday closures when a church takes over the space, renovations are planned for the building, and the below ground dining room was simply hard for customers to find. No one can find me, he said.
The good news is this is a move, not a goodbye. Gonzalez is returning to Nutley, where Tenmomi ran a ghost kitchen for about three years before Westwood and Rutherford, and where NorthJersey.com once called his bowls some of the best ramen in New Jersey. NorthJersey.com named 301 Franklin Avenue in its report, though the restaurant has not formally announced the address, and Gonzalez says the opening should land within the first few weeks of November.
The new spot is a level up in every way. It will be Tenmomi's first independently operated brick and mortar, and it is not just ramen: Gonzalez is partnering with bakery concept Moffle Bar to open Tenmomi Moffle Bar, keeping the ramen menu while adding Asian inspired desserts and savory dishes, a Sunday brunch menu, custom cakes and a broader baked goods lineup with another chef on board. The team wants it to be a neighborhood third space, not just a place to eat.
Tenmomi has never sat still. Gonzalez launched it as a pop up in Rutherford in 2022, built a following from the Nutley ghost kitchen, cooked inside an Italian market in Westwood, then finally landed the Williams Center space this past March, 28 seats and free arcade games included. Every stop added fans, and every stop was temporary by design or by circumstance.
The food is why people followed. The signature tonkotsu starts with Berkshire pork bones that simmer for more than a day, then the broth ages for nine days before it meets a bowl. His handcrafted Drama Oil finishes the signature bowls, and his Filipino roots show up in ideas like Sinigang ramen, alongside spicy miso, brothless ramen, bao buns and pan fried dumplings.
So the move is this: get to Rutherford before Friday if you want one last bowl in the basement, noon to 8 PM on the final day, and follow @tenmomi and Tenmomi.com for the Nutley announcement. A shop this good has earned a permanent home. November is when we find out if Nutley gives it one.
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