Seoulicious KBBQ, a casual Korean restaurant that brings a touch of Hawaiian flavors to all of its dishes, opened last month across from the courthouse in downtown Long Beach.
Co-owner June Choe was raised in Hawaii and grew up eating Korean barbecue with her family. It was something she had taken for granted until she moved to California and realized that what she really missed from the food back home was the “aloha spirit.”
“There’s just a lot of love and passion put into it. It’s something that’s always done in the home,” Choe said. “It’s always so personal.”
Co-owner Chris Kirkman got to know Choe because he was a frequent customer at one of Choe’s other restaurants in Lake Forrest, Umma’s KBBQ. Over time, Kirkman got to know Choe, and they started talking about business ventures, deciding to create Seoulicious together earlier this year.
After about seven months of negotiations with the property managers, Choe and Kirkman secured the location in Long Beach and opened on Sept. 2. Two weeks later, they opened a second location in Anaheim across the street from Disneyland.
Seoulicious is a fast, casual restaurant — not cook-it-yourself like many other KBBQ spots are.
In the front of the house, bases of rice bowls and plates are built in at an assembly-line style counter while the meat is cooked to order and “grilled to perfection” in the back. With this model, Seoulicous is able to offer quality food that is convenient for customers on the go, according to its owners.
“[People are] able to get something that actually tastes even better than they’re used to,” Kirkman said. “[Due to] the nature of our business, because it’s more, you know, you order what you get, and you take it home, not only do we give big portions, but we’re able to get better quality meat.”
Seoulicious prides itself on its recipes, many of which have been in Choe’s family for generations.
“We’ve been doing this for 40 years. That same recipe, just handed down over and over, because it’s clean, it’s delicious. You taste the flavor, you taste the culture, you feel it all in that one meal,” Choe said.
Choe also brings a taste of Hawaii to the menu with items such as meat jun — tender bulgogi dipped in egg — and macaroni salad. According to Choe and Kirkman, there are only a few other restaurants in the area that serve meat jun.
Seoulicious KBBQ, 421 W Broadway #840, is open Monday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.