Melting pot: Hawaiian dish fulfills American dream for Seattle family

It’s become a common sight in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood the past few months. A long line stretching down the block from the 45th Street Stop and Shop, a seemingly run of the mill convenience store.

But follow the line to the front, and you quickly see what they’ve come for: a heaping bowl of fresh fish, rice and vegetables.

“I was just here Monday and it’s Thursday and I’ve already come back.  I couldn’t wait,” says one enthusiastic eater waiting patiently for his lunch.

What he and the hundreds of others clamor for every day is John Chung’s poke – huge chunks of fresh ahi tuna or salmon marinated in a special soy sauce on a bed of rice with lettuce, edamame, crab, ginger and other accompaniments.

It’s a popular Hawaiian dish that’s become all the rage in Seattle.

But when Chung and his dad decided to open their own poke bar, it was a crap shoot at best.

“This was actually our last go.   My pops had started a lot of businesses in the past.  I’m not proud to say it but we failed at a lot of them,” Chung said

Chung had been working in tech marketing, branding and design, but really wanted to help fulfill his Korean father’s American dream of owning a successful business.  So they scraped together their savings and invested in what they envisioned would be a combination convenience store and poke bar at the site of the old Erotic Bakery.

“So we ran with this concept, and it worked,” Chung said.

Did it ever.  Nearly everyday, rabid poke fans wait half an hour or even more for one of the bowls.

The poke bar has become one of Seattle’s hottest eateries, serving over 500 bowls a day.

“We knew that this was going to be something big, or bigger, when we saw people actually coming back, bringing their family, for the third, fourth, fifth time, day after day,” Chung said.

And the word keeps spreading.

“This is the first time I’ve tasted poke,” gushed one enthused eater as he shoveled mouthfuls of fresh fish drizzled with Chung’s mom’s secret spicy sauce.  “Obviously the taste is amazing but the way you feel after words is pretty rare because it’s so fresh, it’s so balanced.  There’s like starchy, there’s protein, there’s spicy, crunchy, the bowls have a little bit of everything.”

It’s easy to see why they’re so successful.  Along with delicious food, the portions are huge, and at $10 for a bowl, the price is right.

“As far as the profit margin goes, we don’t make as much as any other poke shop does or any other place, but with the quantity we do, I think that’s why we have the lines,” Chung said.

But it hasn’t been easy.  John says they’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way.

“We didn’t know how much fish to order, so our first week we were running out of fish at like Five O’clock.  We were telling people to leave because we couldn’t serve them,” Chung said.

It was a good problem to have.  And as they began to figure things out, John says they’ve learned plenty of lessons that could help all prospective small business owners.  Most notably, don’t listen to anyone who says you can’t do it.  After all, the Chung’s failed repeatedly.

“You have the opportunity to just do it.  If you have the drive and you have the motivation, just go after it.  Start you’re own business. I didn’t know what I was doing when I started my own business but it got me to where I needed to be,” Chung said.

And after giving John everything so he could have a better life, he’s thrilled to be able to give the same back to his parents.

“It’s a great feeling to see my dad happy and my mom happy, not have to worry about anything else, probably ever.  It’s definitely a good feeling,” he said.

It’s a good feeling for all of us who’ve gotten hooked on the simple yet oh-so satisfying poke bowls, and are willing to wait for 30 minutes or more to get one.  And If it’s any consolation, Chung says they’re figuring things out and the lines will hopefully be just a distant memory in the near future.

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