New digs for Ima

It’s been quite a journey for Mike Ransom, owner and chef at Ima, Detroit. Ransom was born outside of Traverse City, raised in East Lansing, and went to culinary school at Chicago’s Kendall College. He developed a love of food from his vegetarian parents and opened Ima, in a small space in Corktown back in 2016. The cozy casual neighborhood eatery serves Japanese-inspired noodles, soups, rice bowls and small plates. The menu is designed to also offer dishes for folks with dietary limitations with a variety of vegan, vegetarian and pork-free and gluten-free options. The restaurant was met with rave reviews, with Ransom opening additional locations in Madison Heights in 2018 and Detroit’s Midtown in 2019. Now Ransom is on the move again and has announced an expansion of the Corktown location by 2,900 square feet with a move to the former Gold Cash Gold space which closed in 2020. “Our new location will have a full bar which will feature cocktails, mocktails and draft beer – curated by our Director of Operations Rob Stone. Look for some new items on the menu as well, which will be rolled out once we settle into the new space,” said Ransom. Ima’s new space has a planned opening for February or March, 2022. 2100 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, imanoodles.com