Jinya Ramen History with "Obsession" Crew

🍜✈️ JINYA Ramen Bar: The Allure of Hollywood, First-Class Collaboration, and Keanu Reeves ✈️🍜 This week, Obsession first AD Grayson Alamango Shapiro (@grayson.a.shapiro) joins me to dig into the history of JINYA Ramen Bar, a chain that helped take ramen from a regional specialty to a major national restaurant concept. We talk about the appeal of bringing JINYA to "Hollywood," some unexpected celebrity clientele, and how the brand grew into one of the biggest names in American ramen. And somehow, as all good restaurant history podcasts do, we eventually find ourselves having a serious conversation about an app that maps human poop. 🍜 How JINYA Became the First Major National Ramen Chain 🌴 The Irresistible Allure of Opening a Restaurant in "Hollywood" 🎬 Keanu Reeves Has Eaten at this JINYA, So We're Basically Best Friends Now ✈️ JINYA Ramen Takes to the Skies with a First-Class Collaboration 💩 The Poop Map App Sends Us Down a MUCH Deeper Rabbit Hole Than Expected 🍴 Grayson Has VERY Specific Rules for Silverware Placement at Catering ⏱️ Yelp from Strangers Sparks a Debate About Hostile Customer Turnover Tactics ☎️ ANSWER YOUR PHONES, BUSINESSES! 💬 COMMENT BELOW: What's the longest you're willing to wait for a table before giving up? 📢 SUPPORT THE SHOW & JOIN THE COMMUNITY: 🎉 Patreon (Bonus episodes, extended Yelp segments & more): patreon.com/finediningpodcast 💬 Discord (Food talk, memes, cursed Yelp): discord.gg/6a2YqrtWV4 🎥 Watch full episodes: youtube.com/channel/UCLbraNhL6KhDPkdSWt2yiuw 🔗 All links: linktree.com/finediningpodcast 🎤 Guest: Grayson Alamango Shapiro | IG: @grayson.a.shapiro Patreon Producers:Sue Ornelas, Joyce Van, & Robert McLaughlin Patreon Subscribers:David Ornelas, Kellie Baldwin, Jeremy Horwitz, Herbert Amaya, Simone Davalos, Scott Bennett, Amy Reinhart, Josef Castaneda-Liles, Travis Langley, & Michelle Elmer Free Patreon Followers:Joe Warszalek, Lauren Cummings, Grace Krainak, Keri Estes, Robert Duran, Patrick Elliott, Dave Plummer, Nicholas Volney, Michael Gerard, Tracy Molino, Phuong Duong, Tyler Robinson, Brandon Gully, Mason Cruz, Michael Milito, Mez, Aaron Hubbard, Steff, Renae Michael, Crystal C., NiZ, Science Broe, Jahid Ahmed, Jewell Hermann, & Macky Markar 👉 NEXT WEEK: Grayson and I actually eat at JINYA Ramen Bar and put one of America's biggest ramen chains to the Chili's Test! 🍜🌶️