During the pandemic, Min Kyu Kim saw a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to get back into the restaurant industry he’d learned growing up in Ann Arbor—and to do it in a big way.
The former Seoul Street, at the back of the mini-mall–apartment complex on Plymouth Rd. just east of Upland Dr., is now the ninth metro Detroit location of his fast-casual chain Kimchi Box. “My goal is to make a thousand of these locations,” says the Greenhills School graduate. “I call myself the Panera Bread of Korean food.”
“My goal is to make a thousand of these locations,” says the Greenhills School graduate. “I call myself the Panera Bread of Korean food.” | Photo: J. Adrian Wylie
Kim, twenty-eight, had worked in Chicago consulting for KPMG for three years after college at Michigan State. He saw that while many “mom-and-pop shops kind of fought through the pandemic,” some of the bigger restaurant chains were shuttering stores, including Pei Wei Asian Kitchen, which originated as P.F. Chang’s fast-casual brand.
“So I was able to take over the leases of previous locations,” he recounts. “It’s the same thing as moving into furnished apartments. The furniture is, like, kitchen equipment, hoods—big items that they can’t take with them.
“I got A-list spaces in Novi and Sterling Heights and Troy that normally a landlord would not give to a person like me. They would give it to a Chick-fil-A or Chipotle or something that would add value to their land, but during the pandemic nobody was really expanding like that.
“I tried to grab as much as I can.”
Wanting to get into the Ann Arbor market, he approached Seoul Street with a purchase offer, then ran it for a month before officially rebranding in November. “They make really good fried chicken, so I’m actually using his recipe,” Kim says. “He had his own customer base, I didn’t want to lose it, so I kind of incorporated both restaurants.”
Boxes including rice, salad, and japchae noodles start at $13 and range from bulgogi beef to kimchi, tofu, and egg. Other options include bibimbap, Korean BBQ tacos, chicken sandwiches, and various shareables—kimchi fries, dumplings, and duk bok ki (rice cakes).
Kim emigrated to Ann Arbor at age seven with his grandmother and mother, Sung Hee Kim, a restaurateur whose local ventures include Hola Seoul, Mama Satto, and Seoul Garden. He says she’s remained helpful throughout his growth trajectory, which, after the initial burst of site acquisitions, now hinges on execution. Fortunately, he reports, finding willing employees hasn’t been as much of a problem as many other businesses are experiencing: “Korean culture is pretty hip these days.”
Kimchi Box, 1771 Plymouth Rd., ste. 101. (734) 773–3652. Daily noon–8:30 p.m. kimchiboxusa.com
