When Jae Kim launched the Korean barbecue truck Chi'Lantro BBQ in Austin, Texas, in February 2010, he figured serving Korean-Mexican fusion tacos and burritos to the city's late-night crowd would be enough to build a buzz and lead him to his dream of opening a restaurant. But there was one piece missing, and it came to Kim one fateful night as he lamented disposing of an unused batch of kimchi. He heaped the kimchi on french fries and piled it with other ingredients, and the Original Kimchi Fries were born.
Armed with the massively popular Kimchi Fries and a growing national acclaim, Kim scaled Chi'Lantro as a brick-and-mortar concept and got an extra boost from a "Shark Tank" appearance in 2016. In this interview with QSR editor Sam Oches, Kim explains how he evolved the concept from a truck to brick and mortar, why he walked away from his "Shark Tank" investment, and why he's ready to grow Chi'Lantro through franchising.

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