The Korner Store has closed its location at 736 Valencia Street and found a new spot at 4516 Mission Street. The address was previously home to the Korean restaurant Hwaro, another concept by Ina Jungin Lee, The Korner Store’s owner. Restaurants in the vicinity include Do Eat Restaurant, Ann’s Doughnut Coffee Shop, Tea Plus Tea Bar, and Andrea’s Bakery.
News of the restaurant’s intention to relocate came from a note posted on the eatery’s door. In the letter, The Korner Store shared that the bar is changing spaces in order to offer “longer operating hours, live entertainment, and a much bigger space to drink and dance all night long.” The Mission Street address will provide The Korner Store a commissary kitchen that Ina Jungin Lee tells What Now San Francisco, they plan to take advantage of.
The Korner Store describes itself as what it looks like when a “Korean soju bar meets a convenience store.” For those who aren’t familiar with the beverage, the bar website shares, “soju is a clear, low-alcohol, distilled spirit that is traditionally made from a blend of rice and grains. It is the most popular liquor in Korea and the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the world.” The Korner Store is known for its drink menu which includes beer, makgeolli, Korean wine, soju cocktails, and a tequila soju shot for the bold. Food options include tteok bokki, smoked squid, fried pork belly, and gimmari — a deep-fried seaweed roll with glass noodles, topped with TKS soy sauce and chopped jalapeños.
In addition to The Korner Store and BoBop, a forthcoming boba tea and chopab shop, Jungin Lee is also the owner of Matko, a fast-casual Korean food restaurant with two Bay Area locations.
An opening date for the new Mission Street location will be announced on The Korner Store’s Instagram, @thekornerstore_sf.
