Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Watson.
Stephanie, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am half-Korean and lived over ten years in South Korea. Growing up, I was surrounded by my extensive Korean family and many days were spent cooking for hours and eating for even longer. I am so fortunate to be raised around my grandmother, aunts and mother making delicious Korean foods like kimchi and mandu from scratch. Each one of them fostered my love for cooking and after moving to the US, my mother continued to share with us what she grew up learning and her versions of these dishes.
The idea for Seoul Chikin started with our family and friend’s love for my umma’s home-style Korean fried chicken and our growing obsession to share the deliciousness with everyone! We began in 2013 when we sought to open a food truck in Washington D.C. After a few test events and wild success, the plan evolved into the ultimate goal of opening a brick-and-mortar. Since starting in Atlanta in 2019, we are really enjoying the pop-up restaurant scene.
Has it been a smooth road?
Certainly not! But the benefits really outweigh the negatives. Getting started was the tough part – with not much information out there about how to start a pop-up business, we sort of had to make it up along the way. I was driven to soak up as much knowledge as I could, so I started attending pop-up events and networking with owners. I am fortunate to have met some well-known pop-up chefs and restaurant owners who have become part of my life now! Looking back, I was doing everything I could to build momentum and taking what I could get in terms of venues. I would be a lot more careful now – a big problem in the pop-up scene is the lack of consistency and protection. Many of us have lost money because we didn’t work with the right venue or worked with people who didn’t follow through. The flip side of this is that marketing is a huge factor in the success of your pop-ups. Thankfully, my background is in marketing so I have been able to grow the brand very quickly. And in terms of COVID-19, well, we had to completely shut down and cancel our three events, and we’ve been shut down since early March. But we’re ready to jump back in – take-out style.
Tell us more about the business.
But I am the chef and owner of Seoul Chikin, a pop-up restaurant and the only Korean Fried Chicken and street food pop-up in Atlanta. 🙂 We specialize in my umma’s KFC, a variety of made-from-scratch authentic Korean street foods we loved eating growing up. We’re not your typical KFC restaurant or Korean BBQ place. The main goal of this pop-up is two-fold – creating nostalgia for those that miss the Korean nightlife and bringing authenticity to those that want to try the real deal. I am most proud about the growth of our brand since inception less than a year ago! The last event that we had to unfortunately cancel due to COVID-19 had over 300 RSVP’s and counting. This really says something about the love there is out there for the food I make and I’m so happy for that.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Pop-up restaurants are pretty much recession-proof and COVID-19 has proven that. As we all know, opening up a brick & mortar restaurant is extremely costly and keeping it open requires steady business. Whereas pop-up chefs have complete control over their venue, timing and cost. Thankfully, I don’t have overhead. I was able to afford shutting down the pop-up since March.
We have to make sure that our restaurants, bars and venues survive because they are our proverbial womb. Haha! So, I’ve done everything I could since shut down to help struggling business owners get back up and running by offering marketing help and making sure they’re setup for success.
We will see big changes with takeout and delivery options for restaurants. And we will definitely see that with pop-up restaurants too. The most difficult part we’re going to see is properly managing our turn-outs for our events. Many of us pop-up only once a month, so there is more demand & crowds when we do set up somewhere. But we need to consider the safety of our customers, our staff, and ourselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.seoulchikinatl.com
- Email: hello@seoulchikinatl.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seoulchikinatl/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seoulchikinatl
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/seoul-chikin-atlanta
Image Credit:
Likewise & Citizen Supply (for the bar & closeup KFC pic)
@alwayshungryatl (menu & dishes pic)
Kate Blohm (for the A Mano restaurant pic)
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