What was the secret sauce that made this one work?

I think our people.

Uh, we had, uh, we have amazing, uh, wine director, Victoria James, who I work with, uh, Wesley So, who was in the front of the house, and we, we opened with Thomas Brown.

So we worked...

And David Shim, our, um, he's our, still our executive chef.

So I think, um, and they all came with their distinctive skill sets.

Uh, uh, we had a Michelin star restaurant already.

... that make it fun in the dining room.

What did you see nine years ago that, that you thought was missing when you opened the first Cote in the, in the Flatiron? Because it's not, it's not like Korean barbecue didn't exist, y- you just elevated it.

Sure.

So as a Korean American, I, I saw the popularity of Korean barbecue, but Korean barbecue was, uh, somewhat limited.

Um, no English menus, reservation system, hospitality, wine list, uh, the cleanliness of bathroom.

All of these things were limited, so we wanted to bring forth, um...

I worked for great chefs like Jean-Georges and Thomas Keller, all those kind of a high sensibility, and my genuine, authentic desire to make people happy and delight them, we wanted to bring that together and bring forth something f- first of its kind, a Korean steakhouse.

Speak to me about what you see and, and why do you think that is?

Sure.

Wow, yeah.

Like, they, they boiled it, you know? And so it just made so much sense.

As a Korean American, um, I'm very fortunate that people appreciated me for being that kind of bridge, if you will.

So I thought that I can now, you know, Kor-- South Korea has the largest amount of fried chicken restaurant per capita in the world, and they developed this kind of culture, so it only made sense.

I'm gonna bring it back to America and pepper in Americana, like the cole laws and you know what? American nostalgia, and put it together.

And of course, um, you know-Just with coat.

I work for chefs like Jean-Georges and Thomas Keller, right? Like, the, the, the French bougieness is, uh, something that I really appreciate as well, the haute cuisine element.

I, I would love to know, like, a little bit about, like, what's your process like in that?