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Three hours after Bebop Korean-Mexican Grill posted on Facebook about searching for a second location, owner Michael Pyon is already meeting about the venture. (He actually paused talks so he could answer a few of my questions.)
Opened last March in Fairfax, Bebop is part of the fast-casual restaurant segment tapping into the everything-in-a-bowl and hybrid eats trends for this year.
“It’s been the goal for us for a very long time,” says Pyon on expanding. He’s concentrating his search on areas with more density and foot traffic than his original location and ticked off a wide geographic net including Arlington, Alexandria, Annandale, Tysons and Merrifield. And D.C.
Pyon is still adding to his streamlined menu—meats (Korean-accented chicken, pork, bulgogi and galbi and Mexican-style carne asada), toppings (salsa, kimchi, avocado, etc.) and vessels (taco, burrito or bowl)—with grilled corn salad, fried eggs and beer. Options include Modelo and Corona but nothing from Virginia. “Local stuff is harder to sell,” he says, adding it’s more expensive.
Eventually, Pyon hopes to take his concept national. “Why not? If the ball keeps rolling, why stop it?”
But today, he’s still in NoVA. “I’m here in Mosaic right now,” says Pyon. “There’s a whole range of possibilities.”
