NORFOLK — A Ghent-based restaurant serving ramen and Asian-inspired street food will be moving into its own brick-and-mortar after years of sharing a space with a butcher shop.
Alkaline is expected to move from its rented location within Pendulum Fine Meats at 820 Shirley Ave. to a new location at 742 W. 21st St., which was formerly occupied by Boon Thai.
According to owner Kevin Ordonez, after three years of sharing a location, he is ready to branch out.
“We were always going to move,” said Ordonez. “The plan was always to move and find a brick-and-mortar and have our own space. It took a while to get here, but now we’re there.”
While Alkaline first opened in Chesapeake toward the end of 2013, Ordonez brought his eatery to Ghent less than a year later, operating out of Pendulum at night when the butcher shop was closed.
Ordonez and his team have developed their brand around serving items that draw their origins from cuisines like Japanese, Chinese and Korean, while adding modern ingredients and recipes.
“We don’t do authentic and traditional food in any sense,” Ordonez said. “The food is tailored for our taste and things we like. We designed this restaurant and the menu around what we like to eat and the idea being that we hoped the community would feel the same way.”
According to Ordonez, items like Alkaline’s Dinuguan Nachos would be traditionally served with ingredients that don’t appear in the typical American diet like kidney meat.
Alkaline’s version is tailored to be used as a chili over a pile of nachos, using similar ingredients and flavors in the typical Filipino dish, according to Ordonez.
As the eatery prepares to relocate to another part of Ghent, Ordonez said he is looking forward to an opportunity to further develop Alkaline’s menu and look.
“This is our first real opportunity to show Hampton Roads who we are, other than just formatting the menu to reflect what we want to do and creating a playlist that reflects the style we like and enjoy,” he said.
While core items will remain on the menu, customers will have a larger variety of items to choose from with the new location Ordonez said, adding that he hopes to incorporate more Filipino selections as well.
Along with menu changes and new decor, Alkaline is expected to shift away from evening-only hours and include lunch.
While an opening date has not yet been announced, Ordonez said he is hoping to get started at the new location between December and January.
