Jay Shim and Hera Lee understand Northwestern students’ schedules. Without official hours, the owners of Evanston’s J.K. Sweet keep their restaurant open until 2 or 3 a.m. to accommodate late night study breaks and post-party snacks.
The restaurant, a pan-Asian restaurant that also serves American desserts, is one of the few restaurants in Evanston that is open past midnight. Unlike many of their student customers, however, Shim, 45, and Lee, 43, don’t sleep through lunch. The couple rises at 7:30 a.m. each morning to open the restaurant by 9:30 a.m..
“Most people wouldn’t believe it, but we just sleep three to four hours every night,” Shim said.
Shim and Lee moved from South Korea in December and bought the restaurant. They expanded the menu to include more soups, sandwiches and a daily special. In the future, Shim wants to add Indonesian or Singaporean snow cones, which pile ingredients such as sweetened red beans, strips of dried fruit, sugar syrup and coconut milk on top of shaved ice. Shim also wants to include wheat noodles and pan-Asian breakfast choices. If the restaurant starts serving breakfast, Shim wants to stay open 24 hours each day.
The late hours and diverse menu have made it a popular spot for students, including Weinberg sophomore Tommy Rousse.
“My friends and I called it ‘J.K. Everything Delicious’ for a while because ‘J.K. Sweets’ didn’t describe it well enough,” he said.
Shim and Lee moved to the U.S. to give their three children a better education. They have a daughter at the University of Michigan, a son in high school and a daughter in elementary school. When they came to the U.S., they wanted to work in a college town, Shim said.
“Evanston has so many opportunities for my children because of Chicago and Northwestern,” he said.
Shim received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan. He originally planned to become a doctor, but didn’t get into a Korean medical school. Lee had never been to the U.S. and didn’t speak any English when the couple arrived. The language barrier has created some humorous situations in the restaurant, Shim said. Once, a customer asked for a spoon and Lee gave him another scoop of ice cream. Another time, Lee meant to say “Do you want it warmed?” but instead asked “Do you want it with worms?”
“But the customers always understand,” Shim said. “That’s why we like this place – because the customers are always really gentle and nice.”
McCormick freshman Sarah DeSoto said restaurants usually don’t understand the severity of her peanut allergies, but the J.K. Sweet employees always make an extra effort to make sure her food is safe.
“Every time I order, the waitress confirms there are no peanuts, and the chef has actually come out and verified the ingredient list with me,” she said.
Shim said the restaurant always tries to accommodate each customer, even if it means staying open an extra hour or two.
“Every time we meet new customers, we have to smile and be kind,” Shim said. “I tell this to all employees. Customers are the king.”
