Following a 25 year career managing sushi bars located in grocery stores in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, McKinney resident Ty Wada decided it was time to open his own restaurant in his hometown.

When Wada opened Tiger Ramen in McKinney in 2024, he created a menu featuring authentic Japanese recipes including a variety of ramen dishes, onigiri, hand-rolled sushi and more.

On the menu

The top selling menu items are ramen dishes, Wada said. Paitan ramen, featuring chicken tonkotsu broth, pork chashu and nitamago eggs, holds the number one spot. The restaurant’s spicy miso ramen takes second place.
Paitan ramen ($15.99) features chicken tonkotsu broth topped with pork chashu, nitamago, scallion, menma and lemon. (Karen Chaney/Community Impact)
Paitan ramen ($15.99) features chicken tonkotsu broth with pork chashu, nitamago, scallion, menma and lemon. (Karen Chaney/Community Impact)
Wada believes their broth—made from an authentic Japanese recipe and simmered for up to six hours—is what sets them apart from other ramen restaurants.

“Before opening [Tiger Ramen], I travelled through Japan, all the regions—Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka—and tasted a lot of ramen,” Wada said. “I finalized the menu here.”


Wada said customers are sometimes surprised to find onigiri, which are rice balls wrapped in seaweed and filled with a variety of proteins, on the Tiger Ramen menu. Wada said onigiri are popular in Japan but not found as often in America.

The restaurant also serves a variety of sushi including a spicy tuna roll, tuna tower, California roll and more.

Going forward

In 2026, Wada would like to open a second location within Texas, but not in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. He said because of his decades-long career, he knows which sushi bars had the highest sales so he plans on making an educated decision when choosing the next location.


“We are looking for a small city where there is not too much competition,” Wada said. ”Here in DFW there is a lot of competition, but if you drive far away—no competition.”