Red Light Ramen to close July 13 after nearly 10 years on Milwaukee's east side

After almost 10 years in Milwaukee's east side, Red Light Ramen will close July 13.

Owner Justin Carlisle made the difficult decision to close the restaurant at 1749 N. Farwell Ave. as "numbers kept getting tighter."

"It was time we make the decision either we're going to keep trying to plug along or make a choice on our end and be able to close it on our terms," Carlisle said Monday.

As supplies get more expensive, Carlisle said he could no longer justify raising prices.

Ramen bowls at Red Light Ramen range from $16 to $19 and smaller meals are around $8 to $15. Items such as the pork belly used in a lot of dishes went from $3 a serving to almost $6. The noodles used in the ramen, which Carlisle said used to cost about 30 cents per serving, have almost doubled in price. Shipping prices also have increased, he said.

"It's definitely gotten a lot tighter for a fast casual restaurant that wants to keep their prices down," he said.

Before it was a stand-alone shop, Red Light Ramen was a pop-up service that catered to a late-night crowd.

The restaurant was born out of parties from the basement of the restaurant Ardent after services on Friday and Saturday nights. Carlisle also owns Ardent, which opened in 2013.

"We would flip the whole restaurant over, black out the windows and turn on a little red motion light," Carlisle said.

After three years, the pop-up basement parties turned into a full restaurant in 2016.

"My wife said, 'Maybe you should stop having house parties and let it grow up and have a legitimate restaurant,'" Carlisle said.

Carlisle said he's thankful for the community support over the last decade and hopes to bring Red Light Ramen back in some form through pop-ups or private dining.