Erik Bruner-Yang is Expanding His Restaurant Empire On His Terms

Erik-Bruner Yang has always done things his way. When he opened Toki Underground in Washington, D.C. in 2011, it was the city’s first serious ramen shop. Housed in a tiny second-floor space on the nascent H Street NE corridor, the eatery was decorated with manga comic pages, skateboards, and Japanese vinyl figurines. Bowls of Taipei-inspired noodles kept the place packed from open to close, making Bruner-Yang one of D.C.’s most...