Bun Bros. pop-up coming to Columbus Park Ramen Shop February 3

Chef Kenneth E. Booth says he plans to open two restaurants in 2016, possibly operating out of the same building: Dojo Kenichi, a high-end Japanese dining room serving one party per night, and the more accessible Bun Bros., a less-fancy restaurant focused on Japanese street foods (steamed buns, soba noodles, ramen, soups).

Next Wednesday, February 3, the latter project takes over the kitchen and dining room of the Columbus Park Ramen Shop, at 549 Gillis. The Bun Bros. pop-up restaurant will serve steamed buns and beer from 6 to 9 p.m. or until the kitchen runs out.

“We’ll start out with 300 buns,” Booth says. “Two hundred steamed pork buns and 100 vegan curry buns. When we’re out, we’re out.”

There are only 25 seats inside the former garage that Josh and Abbey-Jo Eans transformed into the Columbus Park Ramen Shop last year, so Booth is going to make sure take-out orders are swiftly packaged for bun-loving patrons who can’t wait for a table. As usual at this address, though, tables will turn fast: “This isn’t the kind of meal you linger over,” Booth says. “We think most people will stay at a table for about 15 minutes.”

The pop-up will be first-come, first-served, with no reservations taken (though Booth wouldn’t mind an RSVP on the Bun Bros. Facebook page). These buns, by the way are bigger than the traditional steamed buns found in most area restaurants. “These are 5-ounce buns,” Booth says. “Typically, ladies eat just one, and a man with a healthy appetite can eat two.”

Josh and Abbey-Jo Eans will sell beer from the Columbus Park Ramen Shop coolers, and  buns will include a sample of Booth’s tart, soy-based  “pounded pickles.” The buns will be priced at $5 each, or two for $9. Cash or credit cards will be accepted.