Rachel Shuster

Located at 72 Franklin St. in downtown Worcester, STIX Noodle Bar is a fast-casual eatery serving up delicious ramen bowls with a creative take on the classics.

STIX is the recent concept restaurant from New England Craft Restaurant Concepts, a restaurant group founded in 2016 and inspired by craft food.

“The name, New England Craft Restaurant Concepts, inspires the restaurants in the group,” said founder and CEO Frank Peace. “They all have some craft element to it — meaning from scratch and fresh ingredients. We want to create a portfolio of restaurants that are craft-centric and diverse and provide atmospheres that are trendy and innovative.”

STIX is a natural fit in the group, and Peace explained how it came to be. “STIX is quite small but a full dining experience,” he said. “I absolutely love Pan-Asian food. I spent time traveling in Europe, and there are lots of these types of eateries there. It was a great opportunity to launch a concept that could offer food from scratch that is healthy and could be executed quickly and efficiently.”

Why Worcester? Peace said this concept is perfect for the city because diversity is key. “Worcester is a diverse city, and diverse cities are embracing non-ubiquitous restaurants like STIX. There are college students, hospital professionals, banking, biomedical, etc. — businesses that create that diversity that want something different.”

Since opening Feb. 10, STIX has exceeded Peace’s expectations. “We were crazy the first day,” Peace said. “We gave away over 1,000 ramen. It’s been busy and surpassing the expectation that I had for the concept.”

As for the menu, you can find starters like edamame, calamari, dumplings and glazed pork ribs ranging from $5-$8. STIX’s signature dishes, like the chicken katsu curry and pad thai; wok-inspired dishes like Mongolian beef and dynamite (yes, there’s a spicy dish called “dynamite”); and teppanyaki dishes, like yaki soba and teriyaki soba, all range from $10-$12.

The signature ramen is made fresh, and the options are vast. Have your pick from chicken, chili chicken, beef, chili beef, pork, salmon or vegetable, all made with delicious aromatic broths and plenty of fixings. All ramens range from $9-$12.50.

You can also find side orders of sticky or jasmine rice, egg or sesame seaweed salad to accompany your main meal, all ranging from $1-$4.

STIX also does take-out and catering! It provides most of the menu items in catering style — half or full pans. Half pans feed five to seven guests, and full pans feed eight to 11 guests. While STIX is a small, yet mighty, addition to Peace’s group, there is strategy behind his move. This spring, Peace and his team plan to open a beer garden and a comedy club.

“The beer garden will have movies, dancing, fire pits, etc., and you’ll be able to order food from the restaurants in my group, and it will all be delivered to your table. I made STIX smaller because it lends itself well to the beer garden,” he said.

Peace has big plans for STIX and his restaurant group — and Worcester. “My vision is that my restaurants and concepts will be a premier destination in Worcester,” he said. “The apartments that are surrounding are beautifully done, which is feeding my businesses. That’s how I formulated my strategy of my group. Additionally, we will employ well over 300 people, creating jobs, which is great. I want it to be a place to live, work, play and eat and drink!”

Peace explains how Worcester is going through a renaissance in many ways, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect for his vision, including STIX, and what it will bring to the Worcester community.

“The amount of investment from the city and developers is creating this perfect recipe for an entrepreneur like myself to enter a market and launch concepts that I’ve dreamt about for years,” he said. “When you get a concept like STIX, it only ignites that passion even more.”

STIX Noodle Bar is open daily from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Want to learn more? Visit stixnoodlebar.com.