Jae Sim and Yeji Song are the husband-and-wife duo that launched Hanmi Foods. Where a husband-and-wife duo once baked oat bread and lemon bars, a mom, son, and daughter-in-law are now serving beef bulgogi and kimbap. The family behind Hanmi Oriental Market, a Korean grocery store located at 1008 State St., has opened a fast-casual restaurant next door at 1012 State St. The new business, Hanmi Foods, has been serving customers since mid-March. They specialize in prepared and portable foods, such as dosirak (a Korean packed lunch, similar to a Japanese bento) and banchan, which are small side dishes. The store is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. They are closed on Monday’s. Hanmi Foods assumed a storefront that once housed Chestnut Fine Foods Confections, a beloved dessert shop and deli. After 40 years in business, Fred and Patty Walker retired last September, giving Jae Sim the opportunity to open his own restaurant. “I want people to hang out here casually,” Sim told the Independent on Friday. “I like watching people enjoy their food and have a good time together.” The store has stocked coolers with prepared foods and a small number of tables. Eun-Young Sim, Jae’s mom, never expected food to become the family business. In 1998, after immigrating from Korea, she purchased Hanmi Oriental Market from her sister-in-law. She did so because she needed a way to survive. Whoever picks you up at the airport shapes what your life becomes, she said through a translator. Gesturing around the store, she added, after all this time, this is how it turned out. Eun-Young Sim, 68, is renowned for her kimbap: a Korean variant on sushi. To make it, she wakes up at five every morning to prepare rice, blanch spinach, chop carrots, stir-fry fish cakes, and cook thin omelets. Then, she piles the rice and fillings onto a thin sheet of seaweed and carefully rolls with a bamboo sheet. She brushes the rolls with sesame oil to add flavor and shine. The rolls are wrapped with aluminum foil and secured with a heart sticker. An entire kimbap sells for just $5 at both the market and restaurant. Because the process is so labor-intensive, these days, Jae and his wife, Yeji Song, make most of the kimbap themselves. Using Eun-Young’s recipe, they spend four hours preparing 100 fresh rolls every Saturday and Sunday, according to Jae. The cooler is stocked with Korean staples. As Korean culture gains popularity in the West, Hanmi’s clientele has shifted from mostly Korean to mostly non-Korean. “Korean culture is getting popular around the world,” said Sim. “It’s good for business and for the Korean people.” For a first foray into Korean food, Jae recommends bulgogi: thin, sliced beef marinated in a sweet and spicy sauce. For less than $15, a customer can purchase a bulgogi dosirak, which includes rice and a rotating mix of side dishes. Friday’s banchan were daikon radish salad, soy-marinated fish cakes, broccoli with tofu, and vegetable dumplings. The store also stocks a large variety of prepared Korean staples, including vegetable bibimbap (rice bowl with veggies), tteokbokki (chewy rice cakes in a sweet and spicy sauce), and Miyeok Guk (beef seaweed soup). Eun-Young Sum and her puppy, Benji. (Not pictured, but Benji’s vest says, “Security Guard.”) When Eun-Young Sim strolls around East Rock with her feisty companion, a terrier named Benji, she almost always runs into a familiar face. With the number of people that know and respect her, she has become a fixture of New Haven, Jae told the Independent. Jae hopes to grow his presence in the community as well. Growing up, he stacked Hanmi’s shelves and drove to New York for ingredients. He left New Haven for school and work. He spent around a decade in California and Texas, where he entered the restaurant industry as a server at Korean barbecue restaurants. (In Korean BBQ, servers often cook food for patrons at the table.) He returned to New Haven when his father fell ill. His father passed around 2023, and he decided to stay in the city to help his mom. Jae and Yeji work without breaks, Eun-Young said through a translator. She said that, out of their respect for her, they came to New Haven to support her. Now, Eun-Young is beginning to consider retirement. Jae is prepared to take over the market when his mother stops working. The next generation of the Hanmi family is already helping out with the stores. Jae’s seven-year-old daughter has been eager to do small tasks, such as fetching items from the market. Recently, said Jae, she’s been inquiring about compensation. “She’s like, ‘Oh, okay, I did something. Can I have some money?” The Hanmi Oriental Market has been around for more than 30 years. The post Korean Restaurant Opens At Ex-Chestnut Fine Foods Site appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less