CoMo restaurant scene broadens
New choices vary from burgers Americana and British bangers, to Korean barbecue and Thai chicken.
Still not enough variety? How about sizzling Mexican beef and cactus (sans needles) in a stone bowl?
Five Guys
233 N. Stadium Blvd. 777-4564
Burgers, fries, vegetarian sandwiches and hot dogs are the few menu items served at Five Guys, which opened this month at Stadium Shoppes next to Petsmart.
The walls are lined with large promotional signs of quotes from restaurant reviews, such as, “Five Guys Serves Heaven on a Bun,” and “Voted Best Burger.” Articles and quotes are attached to the white finish. Sacks of potatoes are stacked like bricks in a wall and form a small divider by the entrance. Workers sing and joke with one another in a store that buzzes with energy and sound. The red and white décor reflects the mood of the shop, described succinctly by its owner, Jeff Offutt:
“Plain and simple,” he said.
Offutt, also owner of 43 Subway restaurants, recently purchased the rights to the Five Guys franchise for 13 counties in Missouri. The second Columbia location will open soon at Broadway Bluffs on East Broadway near U.S. Highway 63, in the former home of Hollywood Video.
Offutt said he loves working with the Subway chain; however, the opportunity to expand in Columbia was no longer feasible when the number of Subway stores surpassed the number that had been suggested for Columbia’s population density.
The Five Guys opening at Stadium Shoppes was met with exceptionally positive feedback, as well as numbers that were 50 percent higher than initial estimates, Offutt said.
The store served more than 3,600 customers in the first four days and by the end of the second week served what Offutt called the equivalent of “around 11 percent of the population” of Columbia.
“We have a very simple menu with great ingredients, and we do it right,” Offutt said of the restaurant’s initial success.
Rather than overwhelm customers with burger variations, individuals can customize their sandwiches with toppings. The ingredients Five Guys purchases are a little more expensive than at a typical burger joint, but it makes for a better product, Offutt said.
“If you just eat the bacon, you’ll taste the quality of the cut,” Offutt said.
The fries are cut every day from Idaho or Washington potatoes and cooked in no-cholesterol peanut oil.
On his first visit to Five Guys, Offutt said the atmosphere and menu had initially left him feeling a little “underwhelmed.” That is, until he reached the register and was met with an incredibly enthusiastic staff member. “She had said, ‘You need to try this, this and this,’” he said.
He was still worried at the sight of the grease-spotted brown bag. “I pulled out the fries and this burger, and it was this juicy well-made burger and fries,” Offutt said.
Offutt said he advises that one should do a lot of research before investing in a franchise. Yet, this time he felt the product had spoken for itself, and he jumped in.
“This isn’t how I normally do business,” he said.
Offutt said he anticipates investing in 15 Five Guys restaurants in Missouri after opening the two in Columbia. He believes Five Guys will do well not so much because it is different from anything currently offered but because of the excellence of what is offered.
“Columbia has a ton of restaurants, both in mom-and-pop shops and in chains,” Offutt said. “But with all types of food categories, you need a standout. While Booche’s is known worldwide, it is not all that convenient to get to.”
The chain, with more than 750 restaurants in the United States and Canada, is based in Arlington, Va.
Kui
22 N. Ninth St. • 442-7888
Barbeque lovers lamenting the closure of Smokin Chicks can once again get their fill of smoky meats and sauces downtown, at the same location even, but with an Asian rather than Midwestern tang.
Owner John Lee is opening Kui, which he calls Columbia’s only Korean barbecue restaurant, in the former space of Smokin Chicks BBQ, across from The Blue Note. The restaurant is scheduled to open during the first week of June, though there might be a soft opening before regular service.
Lee has wanted to open this restaurant for a long time now and is doing so with the help of his family. His son Jeffrey said, “It is a family business, with Dad in the kitchen, Mom out front and my sister helping, too.”
Kui, which means barbeque in Korean, will use traditional wood charcoal grills to provide its distinctive smoky taste. The restaurant will serve many varieties of barbequed meats, the traditional Korean roll known as kimpap and different sides including kimchi. The menu will include vegetarian-friendly options as well.
Kui aims to be a casual dining restaurant friendly to both families and students, Jeffrey Lee said. “We are trying to keep the prices low for students,” he added, noting that a full-sized beef entrée with rice will cost around $7.99.
“We already have people coming to the doors and asking us what is going in here,” he said. “People seem excited about it.”
44 Stone Public House
3910 Peach Tree Drive • 443-2726 • 44stonepub.com
After years of working as executive chefs in a number of area restaurants, friends Dave Faron and Mark Sulltrop decided to open their own gastropub in February. Gastropub is an English term for a bar and restaurant that serves high-end beer and food. The name 44 Stone Public House came from the British measure of weight; one stone equals 14 pounds.
“We’re both big guys, and our combined weight when we started the restaurant was 44 stone,” Faron said. “We’ve been so busy with the restaurant that we’ve worked ourselves down to probably about 42 stone now.”
The most popular fare in the gastropub are fish and chips and the signature 44 Stone burger, which is marinated in a sauce made from Irish whiskey and served with sharp cheddar cheese and roasted crimini mushrooms in a pretzel bun. The bar serves whiskey and hard ciders along with draft brews from England and Scotland.
La Terraza
128 E. Nifong Blvd. • 815-1195
This Mexican restaurant has been open for a year, but with the recent addition of manager Emmanuel Hernandez, owners Christian Ramirez and Carmen Mendez are updating their establishment with a new logo and a different feel. La Terraza has a Nifong Boulevard address, but it’s tucked in a separate building off Nifong behind Providence Urgent Care, just west of the Providence Road intersection.
Hernandez said Mexican restaurants in Columbia have too similar of a look, and the fare is generally the same, so La Terraza will have more eclectic offerings. Take the Deluxe Molcajete, which is served in a heated stone bowl and features cactus, onions, bell peppers, three signature sauces and chicken, steak, pork or shrimp. The savory, spicy concoction is served with tortillas and beans. Ramirez created the restaurant’s menu from family recipes.
“Like me, Christian has been in the restaurant business since he was a teenager,” Hernandez said. “He has collected quite a few interesting recipes from Jalisco, Mexico, and Texas, where he grew up.”
Chim’s Thai Kitchen
3907 Peach Tree Lane at Nifong Square • 777-8626
Owner Pramuan “Chim” Duncan, a native of Thailand, has been working in a kitchen since she was in her teens. With her son and daughter, Jatyupon “Jay” and Pantipa “Boo” Wadtananussom, she’s operated a tiny Thai food stand at Cooper’s Landing for nearly a decade, and in late April the family opened a new restaurant in southwest Columbia. Chim also owns Chim’s Thai Kitchen in Jefferson City, and it’s operated by business partner Preecha Csaya.
Chicken pad Thai and drunken noodles are customer favorites, as are the curry dishes: pumpkin in red curry, green curry, duck curry and salmon in red curry. Plans for this summer include adding another chef, a family friend from Thailand. Chim also plans to expand her restaurant’s outside dining offerings by letting customers cook certain Thai dishes themselves.
“It’s a really popular thing to do in restaurants in Thailand,” she said, “and I’d like to bring that opportunity here.”