Some days it feels like all restaurant news is bad news. While things will eventually turn up and new restaurants will move in (especially as the months begin to cool off), it has been a rough couple of months for the industry around greater Phoenix. Multiple times a week a new story comes out about a restaurant, either a few years old or a long-time resident, being forced to close up shop for one reason or another. The list of closed restaurants marches on, with a Scottsdale restaurant deciding it needed to make the final call and pull the plug.
As the calendar flipped from June to July, Clever Ramen announced on its social platforms that, after three years of sharing ramen, french fries, and other goodies, the restaurant had to close. No reasons were given as to why the restaurant closed. Instead, the post focused on thanking guests who stopped in over the last few years.
Clever Ramen specialized in, as the name suggests, ramen, but it did so with a twist. It was one of the few restaurants you could combine ramen with expertly seasoned fries and other unusual foods (at least unusual when paired with ramen). It carved a little niche for itself in the Valley, but, unfortunately for itself and its customers, the restaurant at 1455 North Scottsdale Road (suite 105) in Scottsdale ultimately had to close down.