Darnell McCoy, 38, turned his passion for Japanese culture into a thriving ramen restaurant downtown.
JENNIE GEISLER/ERIE TIMES-NEWS
USA TODAY Network, Reuters
One night about eight years ago, Darnell McCoy, 38, got a taste for ramen: a Japanese dish featuring noodles, broth and any combination of veggies and protein.
“Poke Bowl, I believe, was the only spot around then, and Samurai Kitchen once in a while,” McCoy said. “I was complaining on Facebook, and my buddy messaged me.”
McCoy said he had some cooking background. “He said, ‘Why don’t you just make your own (ramen)?'”
Then 30, he had been working in and out of kitchens since he was 19, including the former 1201 Kitchen and several chain restaurants in Erie and Meadville.
“I’ve been cooking myself since I was 7,” McCoy said. “So I made (my own ramen), and I liked it,” he said.
And the seeds for Kansai Noodle, at 262 W. Eighth St., were sown.
On a roll
McCoy started experimenting, hand-rolling and hand-cutting his own ramen noodles.
“I would just make a batch, and if I had too much, I would give it away to my friends because I had too much,” he said.
“After a while, some friends said, ‘Why don’t you turn this into a restaurant?’ I said, ‘Absolutely not,'” knowing full well that few jobs are more draining than working at a restaurant.
It was also during the COVID pandemic, and restaurants were going under left and right. Once things started opening back up, he took gigs as a private chef.
He started doing pop-ups, or evenings when he would be a featured cook for a night at another restaurant or event. He had one at The King’s Rook, the Schoolhouse, and other locations in Meadville, New York and Ohio for friends and acquaintances. One night he made ramen for 150 people and that convinced him that he needed his own place. He was done lugging broth all over the tri-state area.
“I don’t think people understand how much transporting liquid sucks,” he said with a laugh. “I got tired of it.”
He looked for a permanent location, but couldn’t find a place in his price range, and he was ready to order a food truck. The day he was going to place the order, a woman showed him the place at 262 W. Eighth St., and he thought he could just about afford it, with a little help from his mother.
“Moms are kind of smart,” he said, adding that he signed the lease May 29. He opened in June.
“I kind of rushed the opening,” he said. “Because I needed the revenue.”
Japan via Erie
What brought McCoy to ramen was a childhood fascination with Japanese anime (a Japanese style of film and animation). He said he would watch a lot of anime and eat a lot of ramen. When a cousin returned from a four-year military stint in Japan, McCoy found himself fascinated with his stories and description of the culture.
“These people have a really good work ethic, and it’s very family-oriented, and that kind of spoke to me,” said McCoy, a father of four children, ages 3 to 11, three girls and a boy.
“I have a big family, and passing stuff down to your kids, it was really cool to me. I also like the aesthetic,” he said, pointing out figurines, lanterns, cherry blossoms and flags he has arranged around a small dining room.
Japanese soul food
“And ramen is (Japanese) soul food,” McCoy said. “Like in Korea it’s kimchi, and Vietnam it’s pho, in India, it’s butter chicken.”
He said his mother, Sonya McCoy, who is Black (Darnell said he is also half-Italian), raised him on chicken, cornbread, greens, and macaroni and cheese, but she branched out with lasagna, “American” goulash, pasta aioli and other noodly dishes.
“I recently found out that there’s like four different styles of goulash around the world,” said the chef who loves learning about food history. “Isn’t that cool?”
His favorite dish from his own menu is called “The Ashley” and it includes brisket from Underdog BBQ, pickled red onion, ramen, broth, leeks, and a marinated hard-cooked egg, as well as beef tallow.
The restaurant, McCoy said, serves only fresh, handmade food. He’s (for now) the only cook, and he’s always open to constructive criticism.
“You know, if it doesn’t taste good, tell me, because I can’t improve if you’re quiet. And I would like to be around for a while,” he said.
Kansai Noodle is open five days a week: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 9 p.m.; closed Wednesdays and Sundays.
Contact Jennie Geisler at jgeisler@timesnews.com. Find her weekly newsletter at https://profile.goerie.com/newsletters/erielicious/.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Kansai Noodle born of Erie cook’s love of Japanese anime, culture
Reporting by Jennie Geisler, Erie Times-News / Erie Times-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
The Ashley ramen bowl at Kansai Noodle features brisket from Underdog BBQ, pickled red onion, rendered beef tallow, leeks and a hot marinated egg. PROVIDED BY DARNELL McCOY USA TODAY Network, Reuters
Copyright Reuters or USA Today via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published September 21, 2026 at 5:11 AM.