“Bibimbap is probably the most popular Korean dish we sell. It’s super healthy: veggies, spinach, egg, a spicy-sweet hot sauce. Mix it up and your tummy feels really good.”
Rob Yoon and his mother Myong Holloway own K-ROK Korean BBQ & Karaoke Cocktail Bar in downtown Grand Rapids.
“You gotta have a niche maybe right now to make it in this market because there’s so many of the same things, I guess. You have to have a good product. You have to have good service, and you have to have something economical for people’s pockets.”
Wednesday the mother/son team that brought some of the first Korean barbeque to the area launched a new menu, reinventing their business model with smaller, less expensive fusion dishes paired with traditional Korean flavors.
“There’s a lot of places going out of business right now and that’s why we wanted to change our menu up a little from being a $30 all-you-can-eat BBQ to having some cheaper sandwiches and other kinds of fusion dishes to make it more cost-friendly and faster.”
Yoon says they are reinventing their approach like many small businesses, adapting, innovating and fighting to stay afloat in difficult economic times.
“We’re going to keep evolving, trying to make people happy. That’s our goal.”
KROK will also supplement parking in the nearby Amway Hotel lot and bring in live music through the summer months.
