In 2023, the Kim brothers, Sangwoon and Sangin, saw a glaring gap in central Wisconsin’s food offerings and sought to capitalize on it.
“We are the only Korean restaurant, I think within almost 200 miles of here,” Sangin Kim said.
The hard work and risk paid off, as their family-owned business, BroKogi, expanded from a food truck to two restaurant locations in Wausau and Stevens Point.
The Kim brothers, who hail originally from Korea, first considered opening a Korean restaurant in Wausau while they were in college. Concerned about expenses and overheard, they first invested in a food truck in 2023.
“We took a risk and opened up the food truck first,” Sangin Kim said. “The first day was really slow … they say you always have to take risk to be successful. We took that seriously and we ended up doing good.”
After they gained success with the food truck, a restaurant owner in Stevens Point reached out to see if the Kims would like to take over their dining space.
“There was a lot of consideration, it was our first time opening a restaurant,” Sangin said. “It was hard for us to decide if we wanted to move to Stevens Point.”
Ultimately, they took advantage of the situation and opened BroKogi in Stevens Point. The food truck primarily served bulgogi — a bowl dish with a rice base and stir fry vegetables topped with thin, marinated beef. That dish was brought to the Stevens Point restaurant as a signature dish. Once they adjusted to the dine-in experience, the Kims started to look back toward Wausau.
“My brother mentioned on the news that we were going to open up a [Wausau] restaurant within a year, which is this location here, and we ended up opening the restaurant within eight months,” Sangin said.
For the Wausau location, they originally considered a hot-pot family style restaurant, Sangin said, but that didn’t work out. Instead, they continued to offer bulgogi while also highlighting Korean fried chicken dishes on their menu, which have proven to be very popular.
“People like the chicken and they like the sauces that we make,” he said.
Sangin said he likes offering a dine- in experience better than the food truck because he can see people enjoy the food and offer immediate feedback.
“We always take guest feedback very seriously. Korean food can be more challenging — it’s different than Thai food or Chinese food,” he said.
The BroKogi food truck, however, is still active from time to time, Sangin said. In April, they were invited to serve food at the blockbuster NFL Draft event in Green Bay, which drew an estimated 600,000 attendees over three days.
“People got to know about us and our food,” Sangin said.
Back in Wausau, the Kim brothers’ unique offering of Korean fusion cuisine can be intimidating for those who are not familiar with the dishes. To alleviate that uncertainty, BroKogi offers a sampler that highlights the fusion elements and allows people to ease into the traditional parts of Korean cuisine. The sampler features: tempura, cheese curds (which can be dipped in Korean sauce), Korean boneless chicken, kimbap (a sushi-like dish with cooked meat) and mandu (Korean dumplings).
“We want people to try Korean food to get to know about Korean dishes,” Sangin said. “It will be a slightly different change from common Asian food like Thai and Chinese food, Korean food is healthier, I would say, with a different variety of dishes.”
In the coming years, Sangin said, they are hoping to open a third BroKogi location in the busy Rib Mountain area, allowing them to introduce Korean fusion food to even more people.
“We’re kind of happy that there is no competition,” Sangin joked. “We’re the only Korean restaurant. At the same time, it’s very sad we’re the only Korean restaurant around here.”
BroKogi is located on the northeast end of town at 1280 W Campus Dr, Wausau. BroKogi is open Tuesday to Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and Sundays 2-8 p.m. For more information, visit BroKogi.com
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here