Nojo Sold to Japanese Company, 'Will Likely Become Ramen-Focused'

In what is more of a shuffle than a complete shutter, Nojo in Hayes Valley has been purchased by AP Company, a Japanese corporation that operates over 200 restaurants in Japan.

After four years of offering high-quality (and often underrated) izakaya fare, Inside Scoop reports that chef-owner Greg Dunmore has switched gears. After the sale of his restaurant, Dunmore will join AP Company as their corporate chef, helping to transition his former restaurant into the company's flagship restaurant in the United States.

As part of the transition, the restaurant will close on August 14 and reopen on October 1; the chef will stay on with the restaurant until January, when he'll leave to focus on expanding the company's operations in California, and across the country. He also plans to focus on his own passion project: opening an import business, offering artisanal Japanese products from small producers in a wholesale/retail setting.

A closing date of August 14 doesn't leave much time for fans of Nojo to say goodbye, so hurry over for one last chicken neck on a stick before the big shuffle.