MENSHO opening Jersey City Fall 2026

MENSHO said it plans to open its first East Coast location in Jersey City in fall 2026, adding a Michelin-recognized ramen brand to the retail base of a newly completed Journal Square tower. Panepinto Properties announced the lease on Monday for space at 505 Summit, a 54-story rental building in the neighborhood. The restaurant is slated for part of the ground-floor retail space at the project, which sits next to the Journal Square PATH station. MENSHO founder Tomoharu Shono said the New Jersey site will be the brand’s first East Coast outpost. ### Where exactly is MENSHO going in Jersey City? 505 Summit is the address tied to the project, with MENSHO set to occupy part of the building’s street-level retail space in Journal Square. Panepinto said the tower contains 605 rental units and 3,200 square feet of ground-floor retail space, plus a public plaza intended to serve residents and the broader neighborhood. Real estate coverage on May 19 described the restaurant as an anchor for that retail component. (binje.com) Journal Square is the neighborhood named in both the developer-backed reports and the earlier Boozy Burbs item cited in the source briefing. The site places the restaurant beside a major PATH transit hub rather than in Manhattan or Brooklyn, a detail that helps explain the project’s pitch to both local residents and regional diners. (binje.com) ### What did MENSHO and the developer say about the opening? Tomoharu Shono, identified in the reports as CEO of MENSHO Inc., called the New Jersey opening “a meaningful step” because it will be the company’s first East Coast location. Shono said Journal Square appealed to the company because it is “a neighborhood where many cultures meet,” and he said MENSHO wanted to “evolve it with the community.” (re-nj.com) Joseph A. Panepinto Sr., president and CEO of Panepinto Properties, said the company wanted 505 Summit to feel connected to Journal Square and described MENSHO as a distinctive retail operator for both residents and the wider community. His comments were published in the developer-linked coverage announcing the lease. (binje.com) ### How established is MENSHO as a restaurant brand? MENSHO was founded in Tokyo in 2005 by Shono, according to the lease-announcement reports. Those reports said the company has expanded across Japan and into markets including the United States, Australia, Thailand and Singapore under concepts including MENSHO, Menya Shono and MENSHO TOKYO. (binje.com) Michelin’s guide lists Mensho in San Francisco in its 2025 U.S. guide, describing it as a Japanese ramen restaurant at 672 Geary Street. The Michelin listing says the restaurant has 28 communal seats and highlights its tori paitan ramen, confirming the brand’s current Michelin Guide recognition in the United States. (binje.com) ### What is expected to be on the menu? MENSHO said the Jersey City restaurant will serve elevated ramen built around house-made noodles and developed broths. The company’s public description of its concept emphasizes a “farm to bowl” approach and location-specific menus shaped by local community and culture, according to the lease-announcement reports. (guide.michelin.com) The reports did not publish a Jersey City menu, pricing or a specific opening date beyond fall 2026. They also did not say whether the Journal Square site will use the MENSHO name alone or a more specific sub-brand already used elsewhere in the company’s portfolio. (binje.com) ### What happens next at 505 Summit? Fall 2026 is the only opening window the company and developer have publicly attached to the restaurant so far. Panepinto has already begun leasing apartments at 505 Summit, with rents starting in the $3,100s in the reports announcing the MENSHO deal. The next public milestones are likely to be permit filings, build-out details and a firmer opening date from MENSHO or Panepinto. (binje.com)