Today we’d like to introduce you to Lino Yi.
Hi Lino, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I moved to Atlanta about eight years ago. I worked at a Ramen shop for four years. Then I transitioned to fine dining and helped open Lazy Betty. I was with them for about 3.5 years. My plan was to only stay in Atlanta for five years then go back to Orlando FL. But when year 5 came around the pandemic broke out and I was stuck here. So as hours dwindle at work due to lockdowns/restrictions/social distancing. We started to do late-night pop-ups on our patio (at the time we called it “The Patio”) it was hosted by our GM, Beverage Director and Sous Chef. It was held outside for safe distancing and between the hours of 11pm-2am. Originally I wasn’t involved in it but then one day our sous chef wasn’t able to work it and asked me to do it since I worked AM and was free to do it at night. So I said yes and had a blast and it had a good reception. A few weeks later, I was asked to do it again…then eventually took over. I was hooked. I got to cook fun food and hang out with my friends. Eventually, it had to come to an end…the weather was getting colder and we couldn’t host it outside… until…
There was a neighborhood Bar/restaurant I would frequent a lot called Ration and Dram (now rebranded as Dead End Drinks). I would often sit at the bar and plan out menus for pop-ups. Then one day Andy the owner/bartender asked how I was doing and I said I was sad because the Pop-ups had to come to an end since there wasn’t a place to host them. Then he said, “Well why don’t you do them here?” We picked a date they were closed (Monday) so I could take over the kitchen set a time and now we had to promote. I couldn’t call them “The Patio” anymore and had to think of a brand…TKO. TKO can be interpreted as Technical Knock Out as in boxing or fighting games…but for me…it means The Korean One. So when people asked me “Hey which pop-up is yours?” I’m The Korean One. The first one I did was a huge hit…and then I became obsessed with the idea of doing pop-ups. My food, my menu, my terms.
At the time I was living in Kirkwood…then I moved over to Grant Park. So I started hanging out at new local bars/restaurants. And I just found myself hanging out at places and talking to bartenders and meeting chefs. asking how’s business? What days are you closed? Would you guys want to host me as a pop-up? Basically, the pitch is…would you guys rather be closed and make no money? or let me do a pop-up. You guys get all alcohol/bar sales. I’ll give you 10-15% food sales that I will personally purchase, prep and cook. All you have to do is host and staff the FOH (front of house), servers/bartenders for the most part people wanted the extra money. It worked out really well. I was the first guy to do them at Ration and Dram, Woodward and Park, full commission, Georgia Beer Garden, buteco but then I would get my friends/peers of the pop-up community into those spots. Someone once told me “the Rising tide raises all ships” So what’s good for me can be good for my friends. We’re all working hard and I’m aware of the trials and tribulations of being a pop-up chef. The things people don’t see other than the food on the plate is the hours of work that goes into all of it.
As pop-up chefs, we do all our own shopping/driving to farmer’s markets, restaurant depot, etc. We do our own prep, wash our dishes, all of it on our own. we don’t have teams of staff members like commercial restaurants do. And if you’re doing a pop-up at a place that doesn’t have a kitchen like at a brewery, you have to bring your own fold-up tables, tent, signage, ice box, set up QR codes, print menus, set up a tablet or have an app on your phone, provide your own togo boxes, make sure you have enough butane for your burners or an extension cord for your equipment. It’s a lot of work.
So I did a few pop-ups at Buteco in Grant Park when one day owner Rafa came by and got some food to go. He said “Hey I like your food” and I said thanks. Then he said btw I’m opening a food stall called Southern Feed Store in East Atlanta Village and I have 1 spot left. are you interested?: I said, “Helly Yeah”. Aaron Phillips is one of the Chefs/Owners of Lazy Betty and saw the success of TKO happening and said he would help me open a restaurant one day… which is something a lot of Chefs say to their staff to encourage them but low and behold the man came through on his word. We all sat down for a few meetings. Signed the Lease in Feb…then opened (after a few delays) on Dec. 9 2022.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
ahahahahahhgre9843$#T$%YE%JJQG9t398^$Y*&FML SMASHING MY FACE INTO THE KEYBOARD. Yes, there have been many challenges. the original structure of TKO was I was the food guy, Aaron was financed, and we had another partner who was in charge of Admin/IT. My Admin guy quit after two weeks. So I had to take over his duties. I have no idea how to do these things. I had to Google “how to write a schedule?” “What forms do I need new hires to fill out?” So in the middle of training, working the line, driving around and shopping for the stall b/c we kept selling out b/c we didn’t know our pars; we’re a brand new business that opened in the worst month to open (December), I now had more put on my plate. but I got through it for the most part. I learned every problem has a solution and it’s ok to ask for help. it’s ok to outsource these things. I had no idea how to make a website or set up online ordering (uber eats, GrubHub, etc.). So I asked my friends in the service industry and they sent me links to services like OrderNerd, and Pop Menu. Then they sent me their Reps for vendors that deliver. so things have gotten smoother.
Then Staffing…Staffing has been one of the greatest challenges. Not every employee is the same and the way they cook and learn are all different. I learned the hard way that what worked for me when I was a young chef doesn’t work for others. My old Chef and Mentor George Yu of Makan/Taiyo pushed me to the limit. We’d have a crazy service and he’d send things back b/c they weren’t to his liking or I’d run out of something and he’d tear me apart. But it pushed to work faster and harder. I would use that anger and turn it into motivation. I’d think “No fucking way I’m going to run out of this garnish or sauce.” I would show up an hour early and prep off the clock just to get ready for service. I wanted to be the best and prove that I deserved to be in the kitchen. I wanted to be the sous chef. After three years there and not being promoted I quit. Two weeks later, I got a call asking to come back. They gave me a raise and promoted me to Chef de cuisine. Now I have my own restaurant. So I figured well that worked for me….should work with at least one of my cooks…there was a young chef who I wanted to mold into my lead line cook…I pushed too hard. He couldn’t handle it. He quit. At first, I was full of anger. I said he wasted a perfect opportunity and was wasting his talents. He asked me: What do you want from me?” and I said “To be me but better” but that’s impossible. I realized I failed him. I failed him as a chef, mentor and as a friend. He wasn’t a bad student. I was a bad teacher. I drank a lot that night. So are there struggles along the way?…everyday
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Growing up as first-generation Korean American, I ate a lot of Korean food at home and some American food. Thanksgiving, yeah, sure we had turkey and gravy but we also had kimchi and rice. I loved the fusion and weaving of cultures. As a kid, I always wanted to eat American food. I had to beg my mom to buy me a lunchable and she was like “What’s a lunchable? what’s wrong with your rice and nori I packed you?” Now that I’m older, I appreciate both cuisines. I love the rich history and traditions of Korea but I love the Modernization of American cooking/techniques. There is an amalgam in Korean called Newtro: New+Retro. which I love. I’m taking classic Korean dishes and making them modern and approachable for my generation. I love taking something familiar and making it foreign and vice versa making something foreign and making it familiar. For example, our Korean corn dogs. People know what a classic corndog is but the Korean twist is adding cheese, using panko, and dusting sugar on top. Our Cheesy Kimchi fried rice…is the same. People know fried rice but my twist is adding cheese.
I love just looking at a dish and seeing which ingredients can be swapped out with Korean/Asian ones. I had a pack of eggroll wrappers in my freezer that I needed to use. The obvious answer would be to make eggrolls, but I’m too lazy to do that so I thought, whats easier…oh I’ll just put ground beef in them and roll em up like taquitos…and now on the menu, I have eggroll taquitos: sweet soy marinated ground beef rolled and in eggroll wrappers. Fried till GBD Golden Brown Delicious, topped with spicy mayo, sriracha, hoison, scallions and served with NACHO CHEESE for dipping.
I saw a commercial for the KFC Bowl: mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, cheese and chicken nuggets. And thought huh…I could do that as a special. So I made mash potatoes, corn, cheese, and Korean Fried Chicken (it’s double-fried) and subbed the gravy with Japanese curry. Which I loved eating as a kid and thought well it looks like gravy and has the consistency as gravy but now this has Asian flavors. It’s one of my best sellers.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
One of my favorite quotes and my mantra for life is “No man who has friends is a failure” from a Wonderful life. For me, that’s a success. It’s not dollars, awards, 5-star reviews. It’s my friends. I am very blessed to have the people in my life. They keep me going.
Contact Info:
- Website: tko-atl.com
- Instagram: tko_thekorean1
Image Credits
Will Blunt
