Opening week for a new hospitality business can be a daunting exercise, especially when nothing goes to plan. Kim's Korean Deli discovered just that, having hoped for smooth sailing, it was anything but that.
A newly opened eatery in Sydney has received an avalanche of support following what it called a “chaotic” first week, as owners admitted that they made every mistake possible.
Kim’s Korean Deli in Darlinghurst introduced a menu offering Korean BBQ salad bowls based on family recipes, as well as kimchi toasties, jaffles and house-made sodas.
One noticeable addition to the menu was the $5-a-bowl promotion to celebrate its opening. While the restaurant wanted to entice customers in for a solid start to operations, it quickly turned into chaos.
“We opened a Korean barbecue salad bar with no experience in the industry, and we ran an opening week promotion, thinking that it’d probably attract some locals, but we were not ready for the masses of people who came to try our bowls this week,” restaurant owner Janice said online.
“Naturally, we made every mistake there is in the book.”
A typical mistake for new owners to experience, Kim’s Korean Deli has since recovered from being pushed to its limits, but said it had learnt from its mistakes.
“We had people waiting for up to 40 minutes for their food, we had missed orders, there were times when we realised we had run out of a particular protein after we had taken payment, and the customer had already been waiting for like 20 minutes,”
The owners said they were “triggered” looking back at footage taken over the course of the day, because it reminded them of all the “mistakes that we made”.
“It’s time to make some massive changes to make sure service is fast and efficient”.
Subscribe to the Restaurant & Café newsletter for weekly industry updates and event coverage.
