BBANG! Will Open Next to the Holy Ghost in Portland

Late last year, Chinese restaurant 28 Tigers said farewell to their space next to the Holy Ghost Bar on Southeast 28th Avenue. Around that time (in November), I quoted the 28 Tigers folks with, “A new exciting project will be taking over our space while we find some rest before the next project manifests.” Well, that exciting project is BBANG!, a new Korean restaurant offering sandwiches, burgers, Korean fried chicken and tofu, and tasty sides—and a love of the bread the binds them.

I spoke with one of the owners of BBANG!, Megan Kim, and here is what I learned about the new place.

BBANG!: A Love of the Challenge of Languages

Though I’ve never studied Korean, it’s things like attempting to accurately pronounce double consonants in the language that makes me want to dive into learning Korean (I experienced a similar feeling while learning to pronounce “Ы” properly in Russian). I’ve done some initial research, but I am not 100% sure how to pronounce the double consonants … yet.

I expressed my concern that I might butcher the word “bbang” right now and Megan said, “Don’t worry, that’s going to be the vibe. It’s literally like ‘bong’ with a long ‘ah’ sound.”

She added, “I feel like most people will likely be like, ‘BEEBANG,’ which we’re totally fine with.”

Previous Hospitality Experience

Both of BBANG’s! owners—husband and wife team Changsoo and Megan Kim—have worked in the world of hospitality for many years, specifically in restaurants and the food industry. “That’s how we met!” exclaimed Megan. “Chang has mainly been back-of-house in the kitchen, and I’ve mostly been in front-of-house serving and bartending.” 

She added, “He definitely carried the brunt of the food and kitchen aspect of our truck, and now at the new spot. And I’m more of the front-of-house hospitality person. But we’ve kind of dipped toes in each other’s realms, which is helpful and nice.”

And that abovementioned truck is the very popular Doyaji, located at CORE on SE 82nd Avenue and offers Korean BBQ dishes.

BBANG! What’s in a Name?

“Bbang” means “bread” in Korean. So why name the restaurant after bread instead of some other ingredient? Well, they love bread and many of the dishes on the menu involve buns.

“Choosing the name took forever,” said Megan. “To be honest, for my husband and I that’s not our favorite thing—naming stuff. But he’s from Korea—and is the main chef—so he definitely was bearing the stronger burden of naming the restaurant.”

Megan says that at one point he told her, “I just want a simple Korean word. It might not be super simple from an American standpoint or a non-Korean speaking standpoint, but I want something simple enough that just kind of encapsulates simplicity.”

“Honestly, it really mostly came from just liking the name,” she added.

Same With the Food Truck Name

She pointed out that they went through a similar process in naming their Doyaji food truck—“Doyaji” means “pig” in Korean. “Pork belly is the main staple of that truck,” said Megan. “And when you eat Korean barbecue, we’re always joking that you just, like … pig out!”

So they implemented a similar concept of the one simple Korean word that both has meaning behind it and really liking the name to describe their food.

Also know that Doyaji will stay open at CORE (it also can no longer move on its own, so it’s parked there).

Fast Casual at BBANG! With a Fast Food Inspiration

The food at BBANG! could be described as “fast casual,” though they have found some inspiration from fast food in Korea. “I don’t know if fast food’s like the right word, because it’s not necessarily going to be the vibe of fast food in both style and pace,” explained Megan. “It’s like a blend of fast casual and street food, with a heavy Korean flavor profile.”

She added, “But there is a fast food chain in Korea that is kind of the inspiration for the vibe of our food. It’s really popular and they have some pretty unique dishes.”

That restaurant is Lotteria. “When we went to Korea, they were everywhere!” exclaimed Megan. “We’re not trying to copy them or anything, but that’s the closest style we can think of.”

Bread and Rice

I wondered if they’d have different kinds of bread for different things, so I asked. “We’re working with like a local bakery at the moment and still in the testing process which ones we like,” explained Megan.

Along with the standard bread they’ll use, they will have a gluten-free alternative, which is a rice bun. But it’s not going to be like a rice bun made with rice flour–it’s literal rice. 

“That’s such a popular way of using leftover rice,” said Megan. The rice is made into a kind of patty that you can put stuff in between. I asked what kind of binder is used and she told me that the starch of the rice is enough to keep it all together.

And it’s not a sweet rice, but the regular rice used in Korean cuisine. They think it’s a fun alternative; I’ll be curious to give it a try.

Why Open a Brick & Mortar

In our current economic climate, some may find it curious that Megan and Chang might want to open a restaurant. (And why not another food truck?) A brick and mortar was their eventual goal when they started the truck.

First, Megan told me about their history with their Doyaji food truck.

Doyaji

“My husband and I started that food truck years ago,” explained Megan. “It was just the two of us. We had the actual literal food truck presented to us on a silver platter from a connection we had at the time—the job I was working during the pandemic. I was a bartender and just kind of mentioned, ‘Oh, my husband loves to cook and wants his own thing some day.’

“And he was just like, ‘I have a food truck that’s just sitting there, if you guys are interested.’ So we kind of just took the leap of faith and started with the food truck.

“I feel like it was more of a matter of circumstance that we started a food truck in particular, because Chang has always wanted to have his own restaurant. He has always talked about having like a fast casual counter style, comfortable, simple sort of place.”

The Truck as a Stepping Stone

Starting with a food truck was a way to get their feet wet into business ownership and the restaurant industry on a bit of a smaller scale. And with the coming of BBANG!, it has evolved into something a lot bigger.

“The truck has kind of become a really lovely stepping stone to that,” said Megan.

She continued, “It was a really great starting point and a really cool opportunity. We’ve put so much time and energy and love into that truck. I could go on for hours with insane stories about this truck. There’s still a lot of like emotional attachment to it now.”

The Truck Got Stuck

As I mentioned earlier, Doyaji lives at CORE because it can’t move under its own power. Megan told me a little bit about that part of its history. “It stopped running about two years in,” explained Megan. “It’s a really old truck and that led us to CORE, which has been amazing.”

At the time the truck was at the end of its movable life, it was a little scary. “It was to the point where like brakes stopped working while we’re driving,” said Megan. “The entire vehicle was breaking down in all kinds of places. It was really serious, to the point where we were thinking, ‘This is going to lead to something horrible.'”

But being at CORE was a blessing in disguise. It allowed them some stability instead of driving the truck everywhere. “It allowed us to have a bandwidth to even contemplate a brick and mortar, and then when this opportunity came along, it was kind of like, OK let’s do this!”

Talkin’ Bout Transition + Xtra Space

At first they discussed possibly transitioning the truck concept into a brick and mortar, but doing something different was really on their minds. “Chang ultimately was like, ‘I think the truck staying is kind of a cool homage to our beginning, and this can be a new start with a new concept.'”

On a practical level, they are also looking forward to having more space to store more ingredients, having more prep space, and more refrigerator space at the restaurant. The brick and mortar really allows them to spread out a bit more.

Why This Location for BBANG!

So what is it about this location on SE 28th Avenue that was particularly appealing to Megan and Chang? Turns out, this isn’t their first time serving food in this area.

At the beginning, when Doyaji was mobile, they did a lot of events, office lunches, and the like in that neighborhood, which kept them really busy.

Holy Ghost Has Entered the Chat

“One day, the bar manager of Holy Ghost sent us a DM on our Instagram,” explained Megan. “He said, ‘Hey, I started following you guys and I noticed that you’re mobile. Would you ever have interest in a late night food program at the bar, Holy Ghost, where you could pull up like Friday and Saturday, 10 to midnight realm?'”

Because the bar stayed open later that their food partners did at the time, they were just trying to have a fun, late night incentive. So they said yes, and did this, along with showing up for random brunches and such, for about two years—-basically until their truck stopped working.

They really love that neighborhood and developed a kind of bond with it, the bar staff and clientele. It was one of their favorite gigs. 

28 Tigers

When 28 Tigers was looking at their impending departure last year, the owner reached out to Chang, as they had worked together many years ago. And he asked if Megan and Chang were interested in the space. “It was kind of like a double crossing of worlds, all the connections coming together,” said Megan.

“So between having pulled up there and having that past connection, we just loved that spot,” she said. “And we always talked about the 28 Tigers space as an example of the style of brick and mortar we would want—the size, the look and feel of it. And then being attached to an established bar was just like a cherry on top.”

They are big fans of the owner of Holy Ghost, and the bar manager there. “It feels like familiar territory and it kind of like coming home in a way, because we haven’t been able to pull into that neighborhood for the last year and a half,” said Megan.

They also note that a lot of their current customers live in the neighborhood. When they announced they were moving into the 28 Tigers location, a number of fans and friends started reaching out, excited about their impending arrival. “It’s almost like a homecoming feeling!” said Megan.

And as a throwback to their days of pulling up there during the late hours of the day, they have a late night program, and a menu to go with it. So, you’ll see them there 10pm to midnight on Friday and Saturday.

The BBANG! Menu

Head over to their website to see the main menu. It’s split into Sandwiches, Fried, Sides, and their Late Night Menu.

The Sandwiches section involves a couple of beef burgers and other fried fillings like chicken and tofu katsu. But also Korean Street Toast, which sounds really good: Sweet egg omelet with shredded cabbage and carrot, toasted Shokupan (Japanese-style milk bread), sprinkle of sugar, ketchup, and you can add smoked pork belly and/or American cheese). You can get tots and fries, too.

The Fried menu is mainly KFC and KFT (tofu) with choices of interesting toppings: plum garlic sauce, creamy onion salad, gochujang hot honey and blistered jalapeños, honey mustard, and green onion salad.

Then for sides you have some salads, pickled/fermented things (AKA kimchi), and Cheese Corn: Butter fried corn, sweetened mayo, melted Mozzarella cheese. As I was reading this, I said to myself, “This is like a deconstructed Mozzarepa.”

The Late Night menu is three things: nachos, ramyun, and a rice bowl. A dessert menu is also in the works.

And you can also take your food and sit in Holy Ghost to eat it—you can even order from from BBANG! from inside Holy Ghost.

An Underground Shrimp Burger Following

Both Megan and Chang’s favorite item on the menu is the shrimp burger. 

“I had never had anything like that before when Chang first made it for me,” said Megan. He told her that that it’s a pretty common sandwich in Korea, and that he would just crave it because you couldn’t really find something like that here before they started making it.

The shrimp burger is something they used to do as an occasional special at the Doyaji truck, and it became very popular and has reached a kind of cult status. “I feel like there’s this kind of underground shrimp burger following,” remarked Megan.

So what is it? “It’s’s a crispy giant burger-style shrimp sandwich where the patty is all shrimp and it’s so flavorful,” Megan explained. “It’s got a kind of tartar sauce on it and a slaw—it’s just so unique and delicious!”

Mocktails and Drinks

Their mocktails are in development right now, but she did tell me that in the summertime they want to make a yuzu plum soda. She also mentioned a cold brew cola—both of these things have been really popular in their past work. And, you can take any of the NA drinks over to Holy Ghost and have them add a shot if you want to make it boozy.

Liquor License

On the topic of boozy, they have applied for limited on-premises liquor license, since they are next to Holy Ghost, which has a grand capacity to prepare cocktails, spirits, and anything involving liquor. “We have an attached hallway, so you can cross between the two,” explained Megan. “But Holy Ghost will be the main beverage people.”

On the alcohol side at BBANG!, they’ll offer some beer and soju.

Designing the Space

They are doing the design of the space themselves, proving a casual and relaxed sort of place to eat, with a playful, clean, and modern style. “We try to have like stools so it feels a little more like Korean street food style,” said Megan. “I mean, that’s kind of a popular vibe for a lot of street food.”

It’s the Flavor Profiles (and the Creamy Onion Salad)

Megan says it’s the flavor profiles in their food that will stand out above the rest. “I feel like sandwiches and burgers are one of the most straightforward, plentiful staples—especially in a food city like Portland,” she explained. “But the flavor profiles of the different sandwiches and burgers that we’ll have is what is the main standout—unique flavors with familiar favorites.”

She also mentioned that they gained their reputation in part by the Korean fried chicken at the Doyaji cart, so it was a no-brainer to bring that (and the tofu alternative) with them to BBANG! “And the sauces that we serve with that I feel like are pretty unique, ones that you can’t just find anywhere else,” she remarked.

Creamy Onion Salad

I asked, “What is this creamy onion salad? What makes it creamy?”

“Oh, man, that is so good,” Megan responded. “It’s a tangy mayo-style sauce and a little sweet. I feel like that one is so hard for me to describe accurately because any time I feel like I’m describing it, I’m not doing it justice. But it’s a tangy, really bright sauce.”

She added, “Mayo is what makes it creamy. And then we thinly chop some onions and blanch them so they don’t have like too crazy of a bite, and mix that with the mayo sauce and put that on top of the chicken. It’s so good!”

She also highlighted their honey mustard and green onion salad, both as truly excellent.

The BBANG! Opening

They plan to open their doors Wednesday, February 18, and have had some friends and family soft opening events so far. When they are open—Wednesday to Sunday, to start—look for their hours to be a little bit all over the place at first.

So, the hours will be: Wednesday and Thursdays 3pm to 10pm; Friday 3pm to midnight; Saturday noon to midnight; Sunday noon to 10pm.

They are going to give themselves a few months to settle in to the space and routine, but eventually they want to be open seven days a week.

Best of luck to Megan, Chang, and the best of the team as they get ready to open BBANG!

BBANG! [projected opening February 2026]
4105 SE 28th Avenue, Portland
BBANG! website | Instagram