wwnnwo cumulus! - Mindy, April 3, up . )5 New West of Seoul food truck wants to add to food options in Waterloo BY BoaVIuwuc own. Chronicle'Sw/I “There was a huge language barrier between my family there and us, but they (I all it Seoul flood. and it's based on the knew we were there to do research and they Korean culture and cuisine that Chris took us to the best places in Seoul." said Kim, Kim grew up with while fusing tradiâ€" “it was incredible.†J donal and Canadian influences “We communicated through eating" said He knew his friends. family and even Hennige. “Most of the days centred around other professionals in the restaurant industry where they were going to take us to eat.†had a taste for his Asian fusion cukine when And it served as inspiration for some of 1. ' hebroughtinlittlesunplestohiscoâ€"workers diefmdoiferingsheplanstohaveinhisfood ‘ ' and they would rave about what they were truck business called West of Seoul he hopes tasting. He's even hosted Korean cooking to have on the streets of Waterloo by this chssesattheCtdinsryStudiosoleknew summer. ~ hewasontosomediinganditgothimthink- “I'm just excited about being pan of the inguboutopeninghhown restaurant. food culture in this town,†said Kim. “l was , Butdiecostolopeninganewrestaurant havingthisdiswssion with myfn'end about " fromthegroundupprovedtobeoostprohib howSeattlewasn't on the mapinterms of $3; 11:}: itive. An architect friend told Kim he'd be foodculture. it just takes a few people to turn 33’}; f" looking at almost $300,000 in start-up costs that around and attract new chefs and retain '11.? fora neMymmatedspace. chefs. You just want to do cool things in the ' . 6» v.24â€;- "For a few years now We been trying to town you‘re in instead of going somewhere . Vzgï¬ â€œ"i get into the restaurant industry. but than else.†{I ‘ if is“ cially it wasn’t an option,†said Kim. “When The logistics of setting up a new business . i ' V 1}."- he gave me a lowball price of $300.0“) I just can be daunting. But a visit to the Waterloo Jl" thought it was impossible to do.†Small Business Centre. at the Waterloo City ' ‘ “2 'lhat‘s when he heard about a pilot project Hall, put him on the right path and gave him > v. the City of Waterloo was starting that would the mentorship and guidance he needed to ' ; 1 allow food trucks to operate in the uptown getstarted. ' , g i <‘ core. Street food. the quick tasty local fare ‘ “This was huge for us to have someone to ,â€" that you can pick up from a mobile food show us everything you need to do. and keep ' {It , , j}. stand. isa staple in the bustling outdoor mar- you on track,‘ said Hennige. “Neither of us . J , f; ' : J;§, ketsofSeoul. had opened a business before and you can '. V. 5.5;. ' \ .,; Kim thought something similar would feel overwhelmed.†-' †’2; \ /’; If: 4 work in Waterloo. and allow him to take his “They showed us where to get started." :13; \ ’ 75.; f 5 : fresh food ideas to the people. said Kim. ‘ f“ f ‘\ _/.«â€i1;‘;Â¥5' “In other cities food trucks have become He also congratulated the City ofWaterloo . ' g _ _ -‘ a. . part of their food culture,†said Kim. "1 would for piloting the food truck experiment and - «,,. » . “ii‘Et-Ji ,7 like to do that in this town and offer some expanding the food options available in the ‘ A , ‘ is} i»- 3'11"; things with an eastern twist and Asian street city. â€4 .491»: ’ food. "Goun. Melissa Dunell did a great job in 1?: . ‘lt's the type of food that people love championing the whole thing.†said Kim. “ ' when they go over on vacation and get a “When we found out council was on board quick taste of the local cuisine. I think that's and there was local support for it. we thought what a lot of people remember. the food.†a food truck was a great idea. Kim and his partnerAndrea Hennige even “This is something we want to do and tookauiptohisanwsu'alhomelandofltorea there'sahugomarketforitJ’luswe'remobile lastsummertogetatasteofthesueetfood andwemngowherethedemandisandeven mltureandbringslittleofitbackhomewidr visitodrertmunsandfestivals" Chris Kim will be opening his food truck West of Seoul this summer, offering Korean cuisine him. He admits product research was the You can follow Kim's progress with West of with Canadian influences. goal of the trip. but he realized how universal Seoul on "(Witter at @thejoodstand or email '0' W â€â€˜0†good food can be and it has a language all it’s him at Christophet‘briankim@gmail_com. ' l l pâ€"â€"-â€"-~â€"--â€"-â€"--â€"-â€"â€"' 7" ' A ‘ “was : ‘ : ‘3‘ j? Inâ€...ug i 5 t t E .m: . g ' . t V cm.“- I .. ’ ~ " ' ‘! n-UuI-u : [WW KIT i , .89 a“... .19 39Ҡ1.11 a..." 1.67 ,. '199 . 'mï¬m : WWWE - 4 5 mun-u... : ( out? i". no no.“ «new: 8.5â€â€. I war-c- we“ . 2?: ~ mono-mum mum-Wu an "M 31-31 Q} L-.‘.‘:".‘::_----.'.":':_i