JMT Korean Cuisine, a restaurant that faced around two months of delays as it moved from downtown to Whyte Avenue, kept its customers engaged throughout with videos that poked fun at its situation.
JMT, which evolved from a restaurant called Nourishak K-Eatery Cafe at 10335 100 Avenue NW, reopened on June 27 despite a target of April. The transition was more difficult and took far longer than co-founder Manseok Oh, who also goes by Owen, expected. (Oh spoke through translation by JMT's social media manager, Manuel Kong, who sometimes summarized Oh's remarks. Oh's quotes have been edited for clarity.)
"We were trying to figure out the blueprint for this place," Oh told Taproot. "We were talking to engineers, we were getting these plans, but obviously you have to go back and forth with the City (of Edmonton) to make sure it's confirmed. But in the middle of that process, the city (almost) went on strike. Because of that, it was hard to schedule another setup for further confirmations and things like that."
The extended delay was not the end of the restaurant's troubles, either. Customers complained about wait times when JMT reopened, Oh said. Its marketing may have been too effective for its fresh start.
"We've gotten a lot more people and a lot more attention than we expected," Kong added. "For that, we're very thankful, but also a little bit sorry … We've been having meetings about that almost every other day, about how we can satisfy these people and deal with all of this attention."
But not all has been bad for the JMT team. Throughout their delays, they used TikTok and Instagram to update and amuse their customers.
"Obviously, we were stressing the whole time," Kong said. "We really wanted to let (our customers) know what's going on, but also do it in a way where it's not too depressing."
The content is very Gen Z, making use of popular TikTok sounds, overlaid text, trendy meme formats, and even including a parody of the YEGWAVE microblogging brand. Clips include one that asks a JMT owner not to cry about the delays, another that jokes about playing hard to get with customers, and another that imagines what day 69 looks like for a customer waiting for JMT to reopen.
JMT Korean Cuisine co-owner Manseok Oh (left), who also goes by Owen, said moving his restaurant from downtown to Whyte was more about real estate specs than preferring one area to another. Though the restaurant's journey hasn't been an easy one, social media manager Manuel Kong (right) said online engagement through the process helped customers stay up to date. (Colin Gallant)
Content-maker Kong started in the restaurant's kitchen around the same time he formed Kingmaker Marketing. Kong is self-taught and gained his marketing experience running the youth addiction-focused clothing brand FXIENDS since he was 19. Now 23, Kong specializes in social videos, among other things.
Oh, 42, moved from South Korea to Canada in 2016 and opened JMT in 2022 to share the food culture he grew up with. His new location is close to potential competitors like Seoul Fried Chicken and NongBu Korean Eatery, but that doesn't worry him.
"Korean food isn't as well-known as Italian food," Oh said. "With all of these Korean restaurants popping up, and having all these other Korean restaurant neighbours, I'm very proud about it … What's specific about JMT compared to competitors is that our focus is on our customers coming here and having a good time."
Oh means the dine-in experience in particular. He and his business partner, Seok Ghan Hong (who also goes by Henry), are focused on hospitality, and keep the restaurant (which advertises itself as a go-to spot for late-night Korean food) open until 1am or 2am, depending on the night. Customers can play board games and drinking games, and the restaurant promotes this on its Instagram. The playfulness is even embedded in the name — JMT stands for jon mat taeng, a Korean phrase that Kong said translates to "tastes flipping good." (Similar to its use in English, "flipping" is a euphemism for a swear word.)
JMT's old location was in a basement with a small, hot kitchen. Oh said he didn't move JMT to Whyte because it was more attractive as a business area. Instead, he said the available space was better real estate with a larger, more comfortable kitchen.
The restaurant is working on delays, menu enhancements, and a liquor licence at the moment. Two popular menu items are fried chicken and ddeokbokki (commonly spelled tteokbokki), a spicy rice cake-based street food dish.