Korean-style street eatery opening on campus

03/05/2020 

SUNY Cortland students looking for a quick, satisfying bite to eat that won’t hurt their wallets is a tale as old as the university itself.

Sung Kim, CEO and founder of Chick-N-Bap, understands that struggle quite well.

“I was a student when I started this,” said Kim, who launched Chick-N-Bap while enrolled at SUNY Binghamton. “I wanted to provide a product that really provides a bang for the buck for the students.”

Chick-N-Bap is an original take on Korean-inspired New York City street food. The word “bap” means “rice” or “meal” in Korean, alluding to the company’s dedication to serving quality chicken over rice.

Beginning Monday, March 9, through Friday, March 14, Chick-N-Bap is serving its tasty Korean barbecue on the SUNY Cortland campus.

The “pop-up” shop is located on the first floor of Corey Union operating from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. throughout the week.

After spring break, on March 23, the eatery will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday through the end of the semester. 

Chick-N-Bap became a favorite among SUNY Binghamton students when it began serving food in 2013. Since then, Kim’s business has expanded to SUNY New Paltz, Ithaca College and Marist College.

“I know the struggles of low dining dollars and all I wanted was a meal that could really satisfy my palate as well as my appetite,” Kim said.

Kim, who recommends the Korean BBQ chicken or the spicy pork platter to first-time customers, is excited to finally be bringing his unique cuisine to SUNY Cortland.

“We’ve had some students from Cortland in the past that visited Binghamton for a weekend that tried our food and let us know that they’d love to see it at their school.”

He believes his experience with on-campus dining has helped him win over the hearts and stomachs of college students.

“I think the fact that we make everything in-house with our own recipes really shines when it comes to the actual taste of the food,” Kim said.

“Students really appreciate that we’re not cutting corners when it comes to quality for the food that they eat.”

Seeking honest opinions from consumers this week, Kim is optimistic that customer support and fresh in-house food will make Chick-N-Bap a fixture at SUNY Cortland.

“We have had serious conversations with ASC (SUNY Cortland Auxiliary Services Corporation) to make Chick-N-Bap a permanent offering on campus based on the feedback from the students,” he said.

“We would really appreciate the customers to be vocal about us during the time of the pop-up.

“We have a genuine passion for what we do. We love being around students to provide a taste of what we’ve built because we are very familiar with how the food scene can be on a college campus. We just want to make this experience better for people that we can relate to on a personal level.”

Prepared by Communications Office writing intern Dean Zulkofske