Restaurateur Hoyul Steven Choi expands his Bay Area brunch, dinner, and dessert footprint with the announcement of three new restaurants opening in 2020 throughout the East Bay and South Bay. Choi opens a second location of his contemporary Thai-inspired California cuisine eatery Kitchen Story (Castro District, San Francisco) with a Korean-focused menu in Rockridge (5422 College Avenue, Oakland) on January 13, 2020. U :Dessert Story branches out from its two SF locations (Castro District, Marina District) for a third locale opening in February 2020 at the famed Shattuck & University culinary corridor in Berkeley (1849 Shattuck Avenue). In August 2020, Choi opens a third Sweet Maple, in downtown Palo Alto (150 University Avenue).
Hoyul Steven Choi has built an impressive portfolio of nine thriving Bay Area restaurants and soon to be 12 locations across San Francisco, Mill Valley, Oakland, Berkeley, Palo Alto, and San Francisco International Airport. With an emphasis on breakfast, brunch, and dinner menus featuring progressive California fare with savory flavors from the Thai and Korean kitchens, Choi is a serial entrepreneur dedicated to serving Bay Area communities delicious dishes while offering exceptional dining experiences. Choi is the restaurateur who popularized Millionaire’s Bacon® at several of his restaurants, including Sweet Maple, Taylor Street Coffee Shop, Berkeley Social Club, Blackwood, Kitchen Story, and Surisan. Packaged Millionaire’s Bacon® is now available for the first time for to-go sales at Sweet Maple and Surisan (download an image of the new packaged Millionaire’s Bacon®).
Kitchen Story — Rockridge
In the heart of the family-friendly Oakland neighborhood of Rockridge, Kitchen Story opens on College Avenue with daytime menus focusing on American-style breakfast and brunch with Korean influences. Kitchen Story — Rockridge presents a strong dinner concept celebrating Korean foods with popular dishes such as Jjapaguri (inspired by the hit movie Parasite, a harmony of two classic Korean instant noodles, Jjapaghetti and Neoguri Udon, with Millionaire’s Bacon®), KFC & Waffles (boneless KFC with waffle and adobo maple syrup), Galbi Omurice (scrambled eggs over jasmine rice, galbi, carrots, spinach, sriracha demi-glace), JjamPong (spicy seafood noodles soup, shrimp, scallop, calamari, mussel, vegetables), and Stonepot (mixed rice with vegetables and meat on hot stone pot). Many of the most popular dishes at Kitchen Story — Castro District will also be available on the Rockridge menus.
The two-story 2,500 square feet Rockridge restaurant houses a full bar with an award-winning cocktail menu featuring KS Millionaire’s Mary (#1 “People’s Choice” Award, Bloody Fest: 2016, 2017, 2018) and an array of artisanal cocktails. With a focus on Korean and Thai ingredients, the Kitchen Story — Rockridge cocktail menu includes Incheon Mule (soju, lime, ginger beer, vodka), Tamarind (tamarind syrup, jalapeño infused tequila, lemon juice), Oakland Sour (whiskey bourbon, lemon, hibiscus infused vodka), and Strawberry Yuja (rum, fresh strawberries, lemon, decaf citron tea). Kitchen Story — Rockridge enhances its drink menu with a hard-alcohol liquor license (Kitchen Story — Castro District exclusively serves beer and wine).
A standout for an amazing start to any day, Kitchen Story has become a go-to breakfast staple for locals and visitors alike. In May 2019, Aislyn Greene with New York Magazine reported, “My favorite brunch spot is Kitchen Story.”
