Emily Lee wasn’t always a restaurateur. Back in her native South Korea, Lee owned a private kindergarten – think the North American equivalent of a preschool – but things changed when she came to Canada in 2015.
“I was with my two kids, a daughter and son,” Lee said, adding she wanted to oversee her kids’ education in Canada.
Her daughter, Sunju Choi, picked up the story.
“She changed her mind and she just decided to continue to her studies for culinary management (at Niagara College),” she said.
Upon graduation, Lee landed a job in the kitchen at Cork’s Wine Bar & Eatery, the popular Niagara-on-the-Lake restaurant in the heart of Old Town on Queen Street. She worked there for five years while awaiting permanent resident status in Canada. This came in 2020.
But she wanted her own place and there was an opportunity closer to her Welland home with kitchen space available in downtown Fonthill. The result is Choi’s Roll & Bowl, which opened on Pelham Street inside a section of the defunct Hillfire Restaurant back in November.
“It's more comfortable, but also she has more responsibility because it's all her own responsibility to manage this restaurant,” Choi said.
The restaurant offers both Korean and Japanese dishes. Some of those on the Korean side of the menu, including tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), are Lee’s personal recipe.
But it seems it is the sushi people have fallen in love with. Of the more than 40 Google reviews, the vast majority cite the sushi as being the best that they have had.
“It’s healthy food,” Lee said.
Business at the restaurant was slow at first. Visibility was a problem, Lee said.
“We did not advertise, we did not even have a sign,” Lee said.
But still, word spread, and the number of customers has steadily increased over time.
“It’s getting busier,” Lee said as she attended to tasks at the restaurant, despite it being the one day a week she takes off. “The people are all nice, they are so generous.”
Choi’s Roll & Bowl is located at 1455 Pelham St. for takeout and delivery only. Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday; 11:30 to 10 p.m. on Friday; 3 to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 4:30 to 8 p.m. on Sunday. The restaurant’s menu is located at foodbooking.com and dishes can also be ordered through the site. For the traditionalists, orders can also be placed by calling the restaurant at 289-650-1771.
