Bringing Local Style Korean Food to Los Angeles
Introduce yourself and tell us your University of Hawai’i experience?
Aloha, my name is Tim Lee and I was born and raised in Kaimuki. I went to the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and graduated in 2007 from the Travel Industry and Management School.
Tell us about Broken Mouth?
Broken Mouth is local style Korean food, the local grinds. I couldn’t find any meat jun in LA, so that was the first item. Other than that it’s a lot of local simple comfort food done Korean style with a Hawai’i twist on it.
Why did you come to LA and how did you start your restaurant?
I moved to LA in 2009, just a few years after college. I just wanted to come to a big city and experience a new place. Being born and raised in Hawaii, it can be a small place at times. I originally didn’t know that I wanted to be in restaurants, but eventually I realized it was my calling. I was already in corporate restaurants but in 2017 I decided to leave the corporate world and open up my own little shop.
What is unique about Broken Mouth that sets you apart from the other LA restaurants?
That’s hard because there’s a lot of great restaurants in LA. For me, I just think I do simple local Korean food consistently. Ultimately, I think what sets us apart is the Aloha and hospitality from the islands that we brought to show people out here what Hawai’i is all about.
Did you always know you’d be in Travel Industry Management?
Yes and no. I think I was always well immersed in the hospitality restaurant business in Hawai’i because my uncle owned restaurants and that was my first job. I also continued working those restaurant jobs through high school and college. When I was at UH Manoa, I was leaning toward business administration or travel industry management. Since I was in restaurants already, I decided to do travel industry management and it worked out because look where I am now!
What makes a successful restaurant?
The food has to be there consistently. It’s a combination of both hospitality and service and great food.
What can students do to make the most of their college experience?
The greatest thing that I got out of the University of Hawai’i were the friendships, bonds, and memories that I created with friends that I am still close with today. There’s just great all-around people from UH.
To learn more about Broken Mouth, click here.