Houston’s most bold Korean steakhouse has served its final meal. Karne Korean Steakhouse has completely closed, proprietor Jason Cho tells CultureMap.
The restaurant additionally introduced its closure on social media.
Opened within the fall of 2022, Karne took inspiration from New York Metropolis’s celebrated Korean steakhouse Cote and different, related institutions to convey an elevated expertise to Houston. Cho, identified for his Korean fried hen restaurant Dak & Bop, recruited chef Yurum “KP” Nam to maneuver to Houston from New York to function his companion within the restaurant.
Greater than three years in growth, Karne featured a shocking inside and an intensive wine checklist. The menu embody conventional Korean marinated brief rib alongside dry-aged beef, American wagyu, and Japanese wagyu.
Sadly, the restaurant didn’t generate enough enterprise to be viable, Cho says. Confronted with stress from his landlord and lenders, he made the choice to shut instantly with out giving diners the chance to go to one final time. Nonetheless, he’s holding his head excessive.
“I don’t have any regrets. I’m proud we had been in a position to be open for so long as we had been,” Cho says. “I went from a small Korean fried hen store to attempting to execute an elevated model of Korean delicacies that hadn’t been achieved in Houston. I’m happy with that.”
Cho’s imaginative and prescient of increasing Houston’s choices for Korean meals has had its ups and downs. He closed Dak & Bop’s second location in Lazybrook/Timbergrove on the finish of 2023 with a view to return the restaurant to its authentic house within the Museum District. Equally, his Galleria-area outpost of South Korean espresso store Tom N Toms additionally closed final yr.
“I’ve been at a quick tempo for the previous a number of years,” Cho says. “I suppose it could be sensible to pump the brakes slightly and decelerate in the interim. I’m an entrepreneur at coronary heart. I will probably be motivated to maintain going. For now, it’s Dak & Bop. I’ll regroup and work out the following steps.”
The start of 2025 has been a tough time for each steakhouses and impressive eating places. Karne’s closure follows the latest shuttering of Japanese-inspired restaurant Cash Cat and the information earlier this week that Andiron, a neighborhood restaurant that centered on steak, will shut on March 1.
