Simon Kim

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Coordinates: 40°44′29″N 73°59′28″W / 40.741251°N 73.991242°W / 40.741251; -73.991242
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Simon Kim
Born
Seoul, South Korea
NationalityKorean-American
Alma materUniversity of Nevada Las Vegas
OccupationRestaurateur
Known forCOTE Korean Steakhouse

Simon Kim is a Korean-American restaurateur who owns and operates COTE Korean Steakhouse, a restaurant with locations in New York, Miami and Singapore. COTE New York has received a star from the Michelin Guide each year since opening in 2017.[1] Kim's original “Korean Steakhouse” concept combines Korean barbecue with an American steakhouse experience and was inspired by his dual nationalities.[2]Crain’s New York named Kim as one of their “40 Under 40” business leaders in 2019.[3] In 2021, the National Restaurant Association, which represents 1 million restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of 15.6 million employees, elected Kim to serve on their board.[4]

Biography[edit]

Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea. He has one brother and one sister. Kim credits his father taking him as a young boy to high-end restaurants as a critical influence in becoming a gastronome.[5] Kim's mother was an actress in South Korea before founding a baby clothing company and a textile company. In 1995, when Kim was 13 years old, he and his family moved to Long Island, New York. He did not speak English at the time.[5]

Career[edit]

Kim began his career in hospitality at his parents' Korean restaurant, Kori, which they opened in 1998 in Tribeca. There, he worked as a busboy, server, and bartender.[6] After studying finance at Baruch College for three years. After attending, Kim worked at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, starting as a front-desk agent and moving up to becoming the manager of to Shibuya, the hotel's Japanese fine-dining restaurant.[7]

Moving back to New York, Kim managed several dining establishments BR Guest's Blue Fin in Times Square; Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Japanese restaurant, Matsugen, in Tribeca; Vongerichten’s The Mark Restaurant on the Upper East Side; and Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery & Cafe inside the Time Warner Center.[3]

In 2013, with partner Chis Cipollone, chef of Midtown’s Tenpenny restaurant,[8] Kim opened his first restaurant, Piora, a Korean word that means blossom,[9]), in the West Village. Soon after opening, Piora became a “critical darling,”[10] and in 2016, the restaurant received a Michelin Star.[11]

In 2016, Kim founded Gracious Hospitality Management,[12] a company that describes itself as "conceptualizing Michelin-starred and James Beard nominated restaurants",[13] folding in Piora and subsequently the two locations of COTE. On June 8, 2017, Kim opened COTE New York at 16 W 22nd Street in the Flatiron District.[14] Cote is a Korean word that means flower or bloom.[15] Within six months of opening its doors, COTE was awarded a Michelin Star in the 2018 Michelin Guide, with a review that noted COTE's “particularly interesting wine list.”[16]

The restaurant's head chef is David Shim, who previously worked at M. Wells and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon. “Wine prodigy”[17] Victoria James, who worked with Kim at Piora, is the Beverage Director. COTE dry ages steaks in-house, and is the only Korean steakhouse in New York with a dry aging room.[18] Pete Wells, noted restaurant critic of the New York Times, called COTE “the best of any Korean barbecue in New York.”[19] Cote has received numerous accolades from the prestigious James Beard Foundation including Best New Restaurant, 2018;[20] Outstanding Wine Program, 2019;[21] and Outstanding Wine Program, 2020.[22]

In October 2018, Kim opened Undercote, a subterranean bar and cocktail lounge underneath COTE New York.[23]

During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, numerous media outlets turned to Kim for insights on how business leaders successfully pivoted operations to manage the crisis: SiriusXM radio on the Roland's Food Court Podcast,[24] Men’s Journal,[25] Vice Munchies,[26] Forbes,[27] among others.

On February 12, 2021, Kim opened a second location of COTE in the Miami Design District.[28] In January 2023, Kim signed a lease in January 2023 for a three-level restaurant at 550 Madison Avenue in Manhattan, covering 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2).[29][30]

Philanthropic work[edit]

Simon Kim is the founder of A Taste of Asia in NYC: Celebrating Our City's AAPI Communities.[31] In 2021, the event raised $1.2M and included 800 attendees. 100% of proceeds were given to three non-profit organizations including City Harvest, Madison Square Park Conservancy and Apex for Youth.

After New York shut down the city's restaurants during the pandemic, Kim worked with New York City Hospitality Alliance to lobby the federal government for legislation and funding for restaurants and bars. (In 2019, the non-profit honored Kim with The Next Generation Award, which goes to an "up-and-coming or established mover and shaker who is still early in their hospitality industry career."[32]) Kim worked with the Independent Restaurant Coalition’s “Save the Restaurants” Letter to Congress.[33] Kim contributed to the Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants (ROAR NY) cookbook, which helped raise $100,000 for struggling restaurant workers.[34]

Despite restrictions due to the coronavirus, Kim continued to keep COTE operating and successfully launched a delivery strategy that he rolled out in March 2021.[35] A percentage of the delivery revenue goes directly to food insecurity nonprofit City Harvest[36]

Kim is a long-time supporter of The Korea Society,[37] a "non-partisan, non-profit organization whose core mandate is to encourage understanding, cooperation, and awareness between the United States and Korea".[38] Kim supports the Korean American Community Foundation[39] and Apex for Youth,[40] a non-profit that works with underserved Asian and immigrant youth from low-¬income families in New York City.

Kim serves as an Associate Board Member of the Madison Square Park Conservancy,[41] a non-profit responsible for privately raising funds to maintain and manage Madison Square, located close to COTE in New York.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Q&A: America's First Korean Steakhouse COTE Expands to Miami Design District". World Red Eye. March 10, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  2. ^ "Simon Kim on Keeping Cote Afloat | Institute of Culinary Education". www.ice.edu. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "40 Under 40 - Simon Kim". Crain's New York Business. March 24, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  4. ^ "National Restaurant Association and NRAEF Announce Board of Directors". FSR magazine. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "How Cote's Simon Kim Finally Learned Not To Worry About Pleasing His Father". Zagat Stories. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  6. ^ "Q & A with Piora's Chris Cipollone & Simon Kim". Restaurant Girl: Best Food Blog & Restaurant Guide. October 21, 2013.
  7. ^ "How Vegas High Rollers Prepared This NYC Restaurateur for Fine Dining". Eater. October 4, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  8. ^ Sifton, Sam (May 31, 2011). "Tenpenny". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  9. ^ "Q & A with Piora's Chris Cipollone & Simon Kim". Restaurant Girl: Best Food Blog & Restaurant Guide. October 21, 2013.
  10. ^ "How a Wild Eating Adventure in South Korea Inspired West Village Critical Darling Piora". Eater NY. November 11, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  11. ^ "Cote – New York - a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant". MICHELIN Guide. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  12. ^ "Simon Kim's Career Timeline". Culinary Agents. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  13. ^ "Gracious Hospitality Management". www.gracioushm.com.
  14. ^ "Cote, an Upscale Korean Barbecue Steak House, Opens in the Flatiron District". The New York Times. June 6, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  15. ^ "A Michelin Star: Cote Korean Steakhouse (Video)". MICHELIN Guide.
  16. ^ "Girl Seeks Wine: Victoria James' Rise in the Wine Industry". ELYSIAN Magazine. July 6, 2020.
  17. ^ "The Making of a Legend: Wine Prodigy Victoria James Wants to Bring Old-School Hospitality Back to Wine". VinePair. January 11, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  18. ^ "Inside Cote, the NYC steakhouse redefining omakase". CNN. September 17, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  19. ^ Wells, Pete (November 14, 2017). "This May Be the Best Beef at Any Korean BBQ in New York". The New York Times.
  20. ^ "The 2018 James Beard Award Semifinalists | James Beard Foundation". www.jamesbeard.org.
  21. ^ "The 2019 James Beard Award Semifinalists | James Beard Foundation". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  22. ^ "The 2020 James Beard Award Semifinalists | James Beard Foundation". www.jamesbeard.org.
  23. ^ "One of Our Favorite Steakhouses Just Got Better". Robb Report. October 13, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  24. ^ "Roland's Food Court on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts.
  25. ^ "The Case for Korean Barbecue—And for a Little New York Restaurant That Could". Men's Journal. October 8, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  26. ^ "How a Michelin Star Restaurant Does Delivery | Operating in a Shutdown". Video.
  27. ^ "Cote, A Michelin-Starred Restaurant In New York City Strives To Survive The Pandemic". Forbes.
  28. ^ "New York's Hottest High-End Korean BBQ Is Coming To Miami". Forbes. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  29. ^ Nazar, Julian (January 23, 2023). "Michelin-starred restaurateur Simon Kim to open restaurant in Midtown". The Business Journals. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  30. ^ Ginsburg, Aaron (January 23, 2023). "Michelin-starred restaurateur to open new dining concept at 550 Madison Avenue". 6sqft. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  31. ^ Adrian-Diaz, Jenna (October 4, 2022). "Simon Kim's Taste of Asia Raises $1.4M for New York City Nonprofits – SURFACE". SURFACE. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  32. ^ "New York City Hospitality Alliance Announces Honorees". FSR magazine. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  33. ^ "April 2 – Letter to Congress". Independent Restaurant Coalition | Save Local Restaurants Affected by COVID.
  34. ^ "Serving New York: For All The People Who Make NYC Dining Unforgettable". Serving New York. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  35. ^ "How a Michelin Star Restaurant Does Delivery | Operating in a Shutdown". Vice Munchies. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  36. ^ "The Case for Korean Barbecue—And for a Little New York Restaurant That Could". Men's Journal. October 8, 2020.
  37. ^ "Friends of Korea Society Simon Kim Talks About His Chuseok Traditions". Facebook.
  38. ^ "The Korea Society". www.koreasociety.org.
  39. ^ "KACF Annual Report 2018" (PDF). Korean American Community Foundation. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  40. ^ "Apex for Youth's 27th Annual Inspiration Awards". Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  41. ^ "Conservancy Board Members". Madison Square Park Conservancy.

External links[edit]

40°44′29″N 73°59′28″W / 40.741251°N 73.991242°W / 40.741251; -73.991242

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