New restuarant comes to downtown with local produce and Asian flavor

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Rapid City’s own Food Network star opened a new restaurant Thursday, mixing local produce with Japanese cooking.

Downtown Rapid City has a new restaurant joining its ranks.

“Bokujo literally means pasture or ranch and we just wanted to create a product that’s new and exciting, that we love but also something that’s very reflective of this bountiful land,” said Justin Warner, the chef at Bokujo Ramen and a Food Network personality. ”I think that it’s really important to reward people with the food that the community is producing. It creates a very beautiful cycle.”

Bokujo Ramen is currently only carryout or delivery, but its first day had orders popping up well after the doors were closed.

“Brooke and I are, my wife, are very focused on quality so I make every bowl, Brooke packages every bowl and kind of double checks my work,” said Warner. “So obviously due to COVID-19 concerns and being a new restaurant, we also don’t have any tables or chairs yet, but we decided we’d function as a delivery and carryout only and we were overwhelmed by the community support. Look, there’s a ticket just popped up right now.”

Warner wants to keep the menu small, currently featuring six items with three ramen options, “I’m sure almost everyone has had instant ramen, our broth takes 48 hours to make, at a minimum, then we go through a sort of tireless practice to get it just right.”

Eventually, Bokujo Ramen will open up seating and Warner says his friend and fellow Food Network star might just make an appearance to the Black Hills.

“Guy says when you need me, I’ll come,” said Warner of his friend Guy Fieri. “The problem is, what I need right now is for Guy to come cook and just deal with these orders because we were pretty darn swamped.”

Bokujo is open Thursday through Saturday, 11 am to 2 pm and 5 pm to 9 pm.

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