Boonsik, a popular spot for Korean fare in Little Italy, had their last night of service at the end of last week.
The restaurant, previously known as Doma, was revamped at the beginning of 2020 to offer a more humble, casual menu featuring countless Korean street food favourites. Owner and chef Paul Kim announced its closure on Instagram, noting that their lease was coming to an end and they had decided not to renew it.
"Words cannot express how saddened we are. We tried to get our hearts together but it still pains to say," they wrote on social media. "The restaurant was more than a workplace, it was our passion, it was our everything."
The restaurant name, Boonsik, refers to the vibrant Korean street food scene and translates to 'made with flour'. The decision to reimagine their menu––which previously served up elegant Korean dishes using French-inspired techniques––comes from Kim wanting to do something closer to his South Korean roots.
While the restaurant has closed its doors and will be leaving the space permanently, they have expressed gratitude and optimism for the future, noting that their absence will not be permanent.
"This is not good bye forever, hopefully we’ll be able to share good news and projects here in the future," they write.
Boonsik also thanks their community, who have continued to support them throughout the years.
"We sure had challenges along the way, but God is so good he gave us customers that business owners dream about," says Kim in the post. "We didn’t get to have long conversations or greetings near the end, but your comments and silent eye smiles over the masks made us stay put."
While they adjust to the change of not coming into work this week, we can only imagine what's next for this chef and his team. You can stay updated by following them on Instagram.
