It began in the year 2010.
As Korean food exploded into LA’s mainstream dining scene, a couple of Korean-American guys started stuffing sausage with Korean BBQ flavors, right out of their apartments. They had a simple dream: to bring Korean and American BBQ together.
Korean. American. BBQ.
They would start with sausage. Little did they know what would be on the horizon.
Launching with their two signature KBBQ wieners (The Kalbi and The Sweet and Spicy), brothers and co-founders Yong and Ted Kim started slinging sausage wherever they could: friends’ cd release parties, farmers’ markets, wineries, and on the set of DEXTER. They lived by the Shakira mantra: whenever; wherever. And they built a buzz.
In the early days of restaurant apps, a cult following began to develop on Yelp. Anonymous, hungry fans started spreading fake phone numbers and addresses....which soon turned into real ones. As strangers began to barrage their missed call logs with clamors for more, the brothers knew they had one choice to make: leave their careers in advertising behind and bank on their dreams in food. And so Seoul Sausage Company was born.
A new take on a Korean mom classic, Kimchi Fried Rice but made into deep-fried balls: deliciously crunchy with gooey melted cheese inside. A Korean BBQ burger, mouth-watering and rich in flavor, inspired by childhood backyard barbecues. The boys stretched and grew, flexing new muscles and dominating the competition. Seven episodes and thousands of miles later, they found themselves back in LA at their first restaurant grand opening, newly crowned winners of “The Great Food Truck Race” Season Three. Mom and dad were proud. Young and hungry for more, the Brothers Sausage weren’t done there.
Over the next handful of years they would expand their footprint in LA. Sporting shirts emblazoned with “Make Sausage Not War,” they could be seen throughout the city in one of their two food trucks and would become a mainstay at major food and culture events throughout the city, build partnerships with dozens of local brands, establish a presence at the LA Coliseum, and eventually open a second location in LA’s Little Tokyo District. All the while, their food repertoire also expanded.
Taking a deeper dive into blending Korean flavors and North American comfort food they created an award-winning poutine, a classic Canadian concoction of cheese curds and meat gravy over fries made with a twist: Korean-style soy braised short ribs. A dish worthy of a cult following. They also introduced the world to their Korean Fried Chicken, tossed in a secret sweet and spicy sauce that is addictive as it is delicious. Spotting an opportunity to tap into the lunch crowd, the boys freed their sausages from the bun and brought them into offices around LA in refined rice bowls topped with a luxurious poached egg, cracked on-site and in-person.
The experimentation didn’t stop there though. Their reputation having grown across the city, Yong and Ted decided to further expand Seoul Sausage, opening another store in Oxnard, establishing a location at the newly opened Bank of California stadium (MLS team LAFC’s stadium), and exploring wholesale opportunities, while also being invited to all the recognizable Los Angeles “ oodie" events including the prestigious LA Food & Wine Festival. The brothers’ dreams for Seoul Sausage had grown pretty dang big. They were everywhere...and everything looked like they could only grow bigger.
But no good story can be told without some drama. And so came the year 2018 with some hard truths. For all their success, growth, and evolution, they could not be immune to the realities of the restaurant business. Looking at their books, they had a tough pill to swallow: push ahead and potentially face the end of their dreams, or close up shop to give them new life. Our boys, the Brothers Sausage again, through either their own stupid genius or some crazy-sharp insight, made what looked to many like the riskiest move.
They closed up shop on their first two stores. In classic Seoul Sausage style, they did it with a party. No time for sorrow and tears, they looked ahead. Retaining a small team of die-hard sausage-ites, Seoul Sausage quickly pivoted, nimbly transforming into a large-scale catering outfit. All their years of exposure to different cultures and foodways in LA informed a renaissance in its creativity and menu development. Their repertoire was no longer limited to Korean classics: collaborating on a modern taco brand and launching a Hawaiian concept as well as an upscale, interactive, private dining experience known as NOLJA (Korean for “Let’s Play!”) and even raised a hundred grand for presidential nominee Andrew Yang.
Going back to the fundamentals they had started with and relying on a small, motivated team, the Brothers Sausage saw the business suddenly more successful than it had ever been. Streamlined and hungrier than ever, they found their reputation growing even more. Having established themselves on the local food festival scene, they began to garner wider attention, rubbing shoulders with high-profile chefs at Pebble Beach Food and Wine Festival and Hawaii Food and Wine Festival, while maintaining their trademark fun-loving good vibes. They harmonized their low-key sensibilities with the raised expectations and refined palettes of the upper crust, feeding fine folks with Flaming Fried Rice Balls, spoonfuls of perfect Korean Thanksgiving bites, enormous slabs of braised/roasted/smoked meats, and a lot of sausage jokes.
With all the wins and losses that come with such longevity, Seoul Sausage saw its best year in 2019. Looking to 2020, the potential on the horizon was astounding. All the momentum built over the last few years, all the experimentation and risk-taking, was leading to a new phase of the Seoul Sausage story, and the boys had plans. Then...a global pandemic happened, and everything changed.
In one week in March 2020, after coming off of their largest month of revenue, they saw all of their business disappear. Trying to take it all in, they took a month off to figure out what was next. They soon found the answer was staring them right in their faces. How were people spending their time? With family. Doing what? Eating together probably. Maybe even more than they used to...
And so...Food = Family was born. #foodequalsfamily
The idea is simple. What do people need right now? A break, a vacation, a night out. So let’s bring it to them with what Seoul Sausage does best: fresh, fun takes on classic Korean dishes, our favorite LA eats, and maybe a few extra surprises here and there (e.g. merch, curated playlists, drinking game guides, a virtual Hawaiian getaway!). We wanted to take back Friday, and make it fun for your family. Whoever you call your “Fam.”
Almost five months in and the response has been amazing. We've partnered with LA Football Club, revived Souplantation for a day, collaborated with local chef friends, launched new dishes and brought back old favorites, all while growing our customer base. What has been most surprising and rewarding though has been the number of people donating their kits to other families in need through their “Give as a Gift” feature.
As Seoul Sausage looks toward the future in uncertain times, they are strangely confident. Maybe it’s that stupid genius or backwards thinking, but they have learned to adapt to survive so that they can thrive. Where others see failure, we see potential. Where others see a challenge, we see opportunity. Where there’s risk, we see reward. It took some balls to make our names with sausages. So, we’re used to making the hard thing work.
So, what’s next? Worry not, the Sausage Boys always have something cooking.