How many restaurants does Roy Choi have? Around 10 - but that number barely scratches the surface of what he's actually built.
Roy Choi didn't just open restaurants; he rewired how America thinks about street food, social media, and who fine dining is actually for.
The Kogi Food Trucks That Broke the Internet Before That Was a Thing
Kogi launched in 2008 with no fixed location, operating entirely from a mobile truck driven around Los Angeles and parking for a few hours in different spots - with a home base in Culver City.
What made it explode wasn't just the food, it was the strategy. By mid-2009, Kogi already had 36,000 Twitter followers, and Newsweek called it "the first viral eatery."
By mid-2011, Kogi had expanded from one truck to five.
Kogi Taqueria: When the Trucks Got Four Walls
In April 2016, Kogi opened its first brick-and-mortar location in Palms, Los Angeles, called Kogi Taqueria, designed to look like a garage that houses the food trucks when they're not on the road.
The menu kept everything that made the trucks famous (short rib tacos, kimchi quesadillas) plus some Mexican-American staples thrown in.
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Best Friend in Las Vegas: Roy Choi Goes All In
On December 19, 2018, Choi opened Best Friend inside Park MGM in Las Vegas, featuring an authentic Koreatown bodega at the entrance.
Choi described it as the first time in ten years he'd be able to explore high-end items like caviar and truffles, adding that it would be the only place where you could get a Kogi taco topped with osetra caviar.
The menu includes kimchi carbonara, slippery shrimp, and uni dynamite rice - it's every bit as unhinged as it sounds, and people love it.
From Le Bernardin to a Dented Food Truck: The Career Arc Nobody Predicted
Choi trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and during his studies interned at three-Michelin-star restaurant Le Bernardin.
He then spent years as a journeyman Hotel Chef before becoming Chef de Cuisine at the Beverly Hilton in 2007.
In 2010, Food and Wine magazine named him Best New Chef, making him the first food truck operator ever to receive that distinction.
Thinking about going the Chef route yourself? The OysterLink Chef career guide covers everything from salary expectations to how to actually climb the ladder.
Chego!, Alibi Room and the Rest of the LA Empire
Under his company 10 Grand Hospitality, Choi's LA portfolio includes Chego!, Alibi Room, and Kogi Taqueria - a trio of concepts that each have a distinct personality but share the same core DNA:
- Bold flavors
- Accessible prices
- Zero pretension.
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LocoL, Broken Bread, and the Chef Who Actually Cares About His Community
In 2015, Choi and Chef Daniel Patterson opened LocoL in LAn, with the goal of serving healthy, inspired fast food in inner-city neighborhoods, with most items priced between $2 and $8.
In 2017, LocoL in Watts received the first-ever LA Times Restaurant of the Year award.
His TV series Broken Bread won him a award for Outstanding Host in 2020- proof that the most interesting Chefs are the ones cooking for a reason beyond the plate.
Curious whether a restaurant career can actually take you somewhere meaningful? Read Is Restaurant Work a Good Career Path?
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