WYOMING, Mich. — Most have dreams of having a home with a view.
Phong Nguyen, on the other hand, dreams of waking up and smelling the corndogs crackling in the fryer.
“That's my favorite," smiled Nguyen.
He moved to America from Vietnam twelve years ago with hopes of owning a restaurant.
“Every day is a new different things," he said. “I just feel blessed.”
Two degrees from Grand Valley and Ferris State later... and he owns two.
“My wife always says you spend more time [cooking] than spending time with me. I'm so sorry. But you know we're running a business," he laughed.
He just opened the doors to K-Pocha, located at 5751 Byron Center Ave SW, He's been the owner of Monsoon GR, a Vietnamese restaurant, in downtown Grand Rapids since 2020.
K-Pocha is West Michigan's first taste of delectable, fried Korean street food.
“It's a fast food but it's still homemade, you know," said Nguyen.
On the menu is an iconic Korean "corndog." Customers select a protein, either mozzarella, beef or both, then choose the coating. They have options from a potato dog to a dragon dog, which is a hotdog surrounded by spices and Flaming Hot Cheetos, which will be rolled together and fried to a crunchy texture.
“Usually, this concept will be in a bigger city like Chicago or New York City or like on the west side, you know, LA and Seattle and stuff. So, we're glad to be able to be a local restaurant," said Nguyen.
If opening day was any indication, they're set for success.
“It was crazy. We got people line up all the way to the corner.”
In fact, they ran out of food two hours before closing — two days in a row. It's a problem Nguyen says he loves to have.
“We just have too much support," he smiled.
The line of customers remains nonetheless. Because Phong and his dream? They go together like a corndog and Flaming Hot Cheetos.
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