Korean Barbecue Goes Fast-Casual in Chicago

KFire started as a pandemic experiment in Logan Square when two friends decided to turn a joke at a poker night into a real business. Ben Kim, a former finance worker, had zero restaurant experience but jumped in headfirst. He even took an entry-level job at a Mediterranean fast-casual spot to learn the ropes—making sandwiches and washing dishes for minimum wage. Meanwhile, Eddie Hwang, a trained chef with 20 years in kitchens, brought the Korean barbecue skills. The two met over kids in strollers while planning the menu at a Dunkin’ Donuts and a mall in Northbrook Court. Their first location opened in July 2020, right as COVID-19 lockdowns began. They couldn’t even let customers inside—just handed out food through a takeout window with masks on. A month later, Kim’s third child was born. Despite the chaos, KFire survived. By 2023, they expanded to Old Town, where catering became their main money-maker. Grubhub even gave them a $5, 000 grant for pandemic-born restaurants.Catering now makes up a third of their sales, with weekend orders tripling in just eight months. Business peaks in May, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, when offices and universities book KFire for events. But rising costs are hitting hard. Beef prices have tripled since 2020, forcing them to raise prices on their signature kalbi dish from $15 to $24. They’ve even considered dropping the bestseller entirely. Inflation on basics like cucumbers (up 60%) and tariffs on imports don’t help either. Still, KFire stands out in Chicago’s fast-casual scene. Most Korean restaurants serve bowls, but KFire grills proteins tableside. Their menu mixes classic kalbi with wild twists like kimchi fried rice balls and bokki fries. Hwang, who grew up smelling his grandmother pound raw short ribs on newspaper-covered floors, says the food is personal. Kim ties it to family gatherings where kalbi was a rare treat. But in 2025, that treat is getting too expensive to keep affordable. The partners joke that when things go wrong, they go wrong all at once. A broken oven during a 600-person order led to Hwang dislocating his shoulder mid-service. Kim had to pop it back in himself while frantically fixing the oven. Then there was the week the air conditioner, water heater, and circulator all died. Yet they keep going. Kim admits he sometimes wonders if staying in finance would’ve been easier, but the pride of building something from scratch keeps them pushing forward.