What Miss Kim does

Miss Kim is a single-location Korean restaurant founded in 2016 by Chef-Owner Ji Hye Kim and operated as part of the Zingerman's Community of Businesses in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The restaurant serves the local Ann Arbor community and visitors with a menu rooted in Korean culinary tradition adapted to Michigan's seasonal produce, sourcing from a network of local farms and specialty purveyors. Core service lines include indoor and patio dine-in, takeout, catering trays and delivery, large-party private dining, and a recurring Chef's Dinner Club (Table 22) multi-course experience; the brand also hosts monthly visiting-chef pop-ups and cookbook dinners, and a new sister concept, Little Kim (a Korean vegetarian cafe), opened in Ann Arbor in 2025.

The business operates entirely as a direct-to-consumer restaurant with no proprietary technology platform; ordering and reservations are handled through Toast (POS/online ordering) and OpenTable respectively, and customer outreach is concentrated on Instagram, an email newsletter, and earned media. Pricing is unit-based: entrees $18-$36, appetizers $7-$23, kids menu $7-$8, and catering trays $30-$180, with gift cards sold through a third-party platform.

Miss Kim generated over $1.8 million in annual revenue as disclosed in a May 2024 CNBC profile of Chef Ji Hye Kim, who has been a James Beard Award semifinalist or nominee in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 and was named a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2021. The company employs approximately 23 people, is privately held, and operates from a single location at 415 N. Fifth Avenue in Ann Arbor with no disclosed funding rounds, subsidiaries, or geographic expansion beyond the second concept.

Name

Miss Kim

Legal name

Miss Kim Korean Restaurant

Website

https://misskimannarbor.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Miss Kim is a single-location Korean restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan, founded in 2016 by Chef Ji Hye Kim as part of the Zingerman's Community of Businesses, serving dine-in, takeout, catering, and ticketed chef events with a seasonal Michigan-sourced menu.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Korean Restaurant / Casual Dining

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Ethnic & Regional Cuisine Restaurants (THAFACAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

All-Day Dining Restaurants (THAFACAJ)

Keywords

• Korean restaurant dining
• Restaurant takeout service
• Event catering trays
• Supper club dinners
• Chef pop-up events

Headquarters

HQ city

Ann Arbor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Service: Revenue generated from customers dining indoors or on the patio, with reservations encouraged and walk-ins welcome subject to availability.
2. Takeout and To-Go Orders: Revenue from online ordering and phone orders for food pickup. Menu items range from $7-$36 for individual items, with catering trays ranging from $30-$180.
3. Catering and Large Party Bookings: Catering orders include trays of food for pickup or delivery, with portion sizes for 8-15 people. Large party bookings (20+ guests) offer custom family-style menus with drink packages.
4. Events and Special Dinners: Revenue from ticketed events including cookbook dinners with visiting chefs, monthly Chef's Dinner Club (Table 22) multi-course dinners, and special pop-up events.
5. Gift Cards: Gift cards are sold through a third-party platform (localgiftcards.com) as a supplementary revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Miss Kim is a full-service Korean restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan, serving traditional Korean dishes (tteokbokki, bibimbop, fried chicken, tofu entrees, kimchi) prepared with locally sourced Michigan ingredients. It offers indoor and patio dine-in service, takeout ordering, catering trays, large private-party bookings, and a monthly Chef's Dinner Club (Table 22) supper-club experience, alongside rotating visiting-chef pop-ups and cookbook dinners.

Product overview

Miss Kim is a single-location Korean restaurant operated as part of the Zingerman's Community of Businesses in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The core offering is sit-down Korean dining with indoor and patio seating, supplemented by a To Go/takeout service. Additional revenue streams include catering (tray delivery service), a monthly Chef's Dinner Club subscription experience via Table 22, and rotating special chef pop-up events. The restaurant's menu features traditional Korean dishes adapted with Michigan produce, including tteokbokki in multiple styles, bibimbop, fried chicken, and tofu entrees. A new sister concept, Little Kim (a Korean vegetarian cafe), was announced in 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Miss Kim Korean Restaurant Dine-In Service Full-service Korean restaurant offering indoor dining and patio seating with traditional Korean dishes (tteokbokki, bibimbop, fried chicken, tofu entrees, kimchi). Reservations encouraged via OpenTable; walk-ins welcomed subject to availability. Located at 415 N. Fifth Ave, Ann Arbor, MI.
• Takeout / To-Go Orders

Quantifiable outcome

• Restaurant generates over $1.8 million per year in revenue
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Zingerman's Community of BusinessescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMiss Kim is a proud part of the Zingerman's Community of Businesses, a well-known food business collective in Ann Arbor. This partnership provides brand association, cross-promotional opportunities, and access to other Zingerman's businesses including Bakehouse, Creamery, Coffee Company, and more.
• Ann Arbor Farmers MarketminorOthersSource for local produce and ingredients for the restaurant's seasonal menu.
• Calder DairyminorOthersLocal dairy supplier providing butter and dairy products used in menu items like the Soy Butter Rice dish.
• Zingerman's BakehouseminorOthersPart of Zingerman's Community, providing bread and baked goods for the restaurant.
• Zingerman's CreameryminorOthersPart of Zingerman's Community, providing artisanal cheese products used in menu items.
• Zingerman's Coffee CompanyminorOthersPart of Zingerman's Community, providing coffee and beverages for the restaurant.
• Seeley FarmminorOthersLocal farm supplier for fresh produce used in seasonal menu items.
• Tamchop FarmminorOthersLocal farm in Dexter that has partnered with Miss Kim for pop-up events and produce sourcing.
• Goetz Family FarmminorOthersLocal farm supplier in Riga providing fresh produce for the restaurant.
• Tom Maceri & SonsminorOthersLocal produce supplier from St. Claire Shores.
• Marshall Johnson MeatsminorOthersLocal meat supplier in Ypsilanti for proteins used in Korean dishes.
• Motor City Seafood CominorOthersSeafood supplier from Detroit for fresh fish and seafood items.
• Durham's Tracklements & SmokeryminorOthersLocal Ann Arbor supplier of smoked meats and charcuterie.
• Hyundai MarketminorOthersAsian grocery store in Ann Arbor supplying fresh rice cakes for Korean dishes.
• Épices de CruminorOthersMontreal-based spice supplier for specialty Korean seasonings and spices.
• Rishi TeaminorOthersTea supplier from Milwaukee providing teas and botanicals.
• Blom MeadworksminorOthersAnn Arbor meadery providing honey wine and mead options.
• Little Guy Wine CompanyminorOthersWine supplier from Highland Park for restaurant wine program.
• Milk StreetminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChristopher Kimball's Milk Street (PBS) featured Chef Ji Hye Kim in 2021, expanding her reach to national audience. She joined the Milk Street cast, which airs nationally on PBS stations.
• World Central KitchenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMiss Kim participated in a Restaurant Week fundraiser (February 2024) featuring an exclusive cocktail that donated proceeds to World Central Kitchen, the nonprofit that provides meals in response to humanitarian crises.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Atomix: New York City Korean fine-dining restaurant (two Michelin stars) by the husband-and-wife team behind Atoboy. Closest U.S. analogue to Miss Kim in terms of a chef-driven Korean tasting experience and national critical profile, although priced and scaled much higher.
• Han Oak: Korean-American restaurant in NYC run by chef Esther Choi. Comparable chef-driven Korean concept with strong press presence, event programming, and tasting-menu style dinners.
• Jungsik: NYC Korean fine-dining flagship from chef Jungsik Yim. Comparable as a critically-acclaimed, Korean-rooted, chef-driven restaurant that built national brand recognition through tasting-menu and à la carte service.
• Oleana: Cambridge, MA restaurant from chef Ana Sortun. Comparable chef-driven, single-location, ethnic-cuisine restaurant with a James Beard-recognized chef and a strong focus on local sourcing and spices — parallel model to Miss Kim's Korean-meets-Michigan-produce approach.

Broad incumbents

• Zahav: Philadelphia Israeli restaurant from chef Michael Solomonov, multiple-time James Beard Outstanding Restaurant winner. Comparable as a chef-driven, single-cuisine, James Beard-anchored independent that became a destination dining brand.
• Momofuku Restaurant Group: David Chang's multi-unit, multi-brand Asian/Korean restaurant group. Comparable as a Korean-rooted, chef-led concept that scaled into a broader hospitality brand, illustrating the trajectory Miss Kim could pursue — but operating at vastly larger scale.

Direct peers

• Mani Osteria: Chef-driven Italian restaurant in Ann Arbor and a peer within the local independent full-service dining set. Comparable in scale, dining-room concept, and community profile, although cuisine differs.
• Slurping Turtle: Ann Arbor Asian-noodle restaurant (part of the same local hospitality orbit as Miss Kim). Direct local competitor for Asian-cuisine diners, group dining, and catering, with similar price-point menu structure.
• Crying Tiger: Ann Arbor Thai/Southeast Asian restaurant in the same downtown market as Miss Kim. Comparable as a chef-driven, independent, Asian-cuisine full-service operator competing for the same Ann Arbor dining occasion and catering dollars.
• Parachute: Chicago Korean-American chef-driven restaurant from Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark with multiple James Beard recognitions. Closest conceptual parallel to Miss Kim: a chef-owned, Korean-rooted, single-location, critically-acclaimed restaurant that built a national profile through press and awards.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/misskimannarbor
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/misskimannarbor

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Miss Kim