Today we’d like to introduce you to Ginny Kim.
Ginny, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My parents started Seoul Garden June of 1993. They started the restaurant business in 1983 in the Sharpstown area called Sam Bo Jung. After expanding the restaurant couple of times, they decided to sell that business and start Seoul Garden in the soon to be known as “Korea Town”. They wanted a facility that can accommodate events for the community and big enough to accommodate large families. My mom, Chon ChiMi Yang has been the original chef and mastermind for all the basic ingredients in all menu including her famous side dishes. Till this day she is still very hands on with everything that goes out of the kitchen. All our chefs are Korean and really understand the authentic Korean cooking. My mom is well known by the Korean community for her authentic Korean bean paste and chili paste. This is very labor intensive and time consuming, to make, so most people simply purchase these sauces. These authentic taste is hard to come by even in Korea. As my parents approach retirement age, I have stepped in to help with the management part of the business. However, you will still see both of my parents at the restaurant everyday being very active. This is their whole life and still not ready to give it up. We are so thankful for the true loyal customers that have been dinning with us for two generations.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Restaurant business is hard in general. However, We have been very lucky in that our business has always been stable. It’s our great loyal customers. However, One of our biggest challenge was in 2015-2016, when we ended up 2 game rooms in our shopping center and we were short of parking. It was very frustrating since our banquet customers were cancelling their events with us. This issue has been resolved with both of the game rooms closing down.
Please tell us about Seoul Garden Restaurant.
We are well known for our Korean BBQs and sides. Among Koreans it’s the bean paste stew that is authentic from the bean paste that we famous for. The sides really distinguish us from others. We make sure that it’s fresh, plentiful and yummy. Our side salad that comes with BBQ is well known by everyone that has tried it. Our biggest pride is that we are the original owners and that my mom is still a big part of the kitchen. It makes a big difference when the owners are around everyday. Also, we have great employees that have been with us 20+ years. They are like family.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
We should have bought a building and built our restaurant. We have no control over how the shopping center looks today, but we do get lots of compliments when people come into the restaurant.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9446 Long Point Rd.,
Houston, TX 77055 - Website: Www.seoulgardenhoustontx.com
- Phone: 713-935-9696
- Email: gkim1010@gmail.com
- Facebook: Seoulgarden
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