Albert Ok, who studied art, chose a culinary career for financial reasons, finding that cooking offered similar creative satisfaction. After working in various now-closed restaurants, he realized his long-term vision of opening a sit-down restaurant. Although pleased with the success of Ok's Deli, the shift to Oken came sooner than expected. He acknowledges the complexity and higher stakes of the sit-down model compared to fast-casual dining, suggesting that it could take a couple of years to fully adjust and find profitability.
"It's not really that romanticized of a story, it was more of a financial decision. It was just easier to find work in the food industry."
"Ingredients could be sort of similar to the color palette. Certain colors go well with other colors, and same with ingredients."
"Opening a sit-down spot is a lot of work. The sit-down model is a lot more complex, and there's a lot more areas where you can lose money."
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