Published : Jan. 26, 2012 - 19:29
Michael Jordan
American basketball legend Michael Jordan will open an Asian barbecue restaurant with a Korean chef later this year, a Chicago media outlet reported this week.
According to NBC, Jordan, 48, will join hands with Korean-American chef Bill Kim and open “Belly Q” in Chicago sometime this spring.
The new restaurant will replace “One Sixtyblue,” which Jordan had managed for 14 years with his Cornerstone Restaurant Group before closing it earlier this month.
Kim, whose family immigrated to the U.S. when he was 7, formerly served as a chef at top Chicago restaurant “Charlie Trotter’s.” Kim also has the experience of managing “Urban Belly” and “Belly Shack” with his wife Yvonne Cadiz, Cornerstone said in a press release.
Menus for the new restaurant have yet to be finalized but people should “expect a flavor palette that’s boldly smoky and brightly piquant, with a depth of flavor that sneaks up on you and leaves you wanting more,” the release added.
Kim, well-known for his Korean-concept recipes such as kimchi beef sandwich and fusion dumpling dishes, is said to have met Jordan via mutual friend Mark Dombkoski, who is the basketball star’s vice president of operations at a Philadelphia restaurant.
Jordan currently also owns “Michael Jordan’s Steak House” and “23.sportscafe.”
By Shin Hae-in (
hayney@heraldcorp.com)