Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ivy Ha, CEO of Kei Concepts, located in Huntington Beach, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Kei Concepts is an AAPI-owned and operated restaurant group with women in key executive roles. In tandem, Kei Concepts oversees six unique brands: Sup Noodle Bar, Vox Kitchen, Nep Cafe, Gem Dining, ROL Bar, Kin Ramen, and one internationally recognized tea franchise - The Alley, with at least five more projects in the works across Southern California— including Japanese inspired Italian dining, a sophisticated coffee house & bakery, and an elevated hot pot/dim sum combo. We're growing fast and staying local so that we can really make a change within our community. More restaurants means more jobs — there would be positions to fill and families to provide for.
About 80% of our customers are Asian/Asian-American Millennials and Gen Zers — we take pride in knowing exactly what this "foodie generation" of Millennials and Gen-Zers want when it comes to food since we're a part of this generation ourselves. We hope that by targeting this younger demographic, we're able to invoke curiosity and inspire them through Asian-influenced cuisine. Outside of providing really good food/dining experiences, our immediate "bigger picture" goal is to create an ecosystem to give future generations a platform to make lasting impressions and a voice to create purposeful change. There is power in opportunity, and we aim to provide this opportunity for the years to come.
However, that's not to say that we aren't catering to an "older" demographic as well. We know that there are many older generations living in Southern California, with many of them being immigrants who left their home country in search of better opportunities. The very least we can do is make them feel at home when dining at our restaurants. Many of our dishes are traditionally inspired cultural dishes that hit a certain nostalgic element to customers of all ages — we love seeing families of grandparents, parents, children, and grandchildren all dining together.
Tell us about yourself
Kei Concepts was formed out of pure necessity. The necessity derived from the company's continuous rapid growth and our vast and creative vision plan. Our restaurants were gaining massive popularity, and we were operating and managing multiple brands and multiple store locations with what felt like to me at the time… a million moving pieces. I knew that in order for the restaurants to be able to focus on what they do best, I needed to provide, create and secure a strong backbone for the company. Hence, Kei Concepts was born, which was, ironically, around the same time as the birth of my daughter, Keira. Therefore, we named the company "Kei" after Keira — both of which were intertwined with our destiny.
When I created the company, I had zero experience operating any company at all, let alone a Restaurant management company — I had to just figure it out and build everything from scratch. The process required deep listening, understanding, and a strong commitment to not only meet the expectations of the current restaurants but the needs of our employees and customers as well. I put in a lot of hours reading, studying, and pushing myself with every ounce of effort to understand restaurant operations, the F&B industry, the competition, the restaurant technology stack, the HR and legal aspects, and ultimately our customers' ever-changing needs. With my personality, if I can't do something, but I have the desire to do it, then I will figure out every possible way to get it done. And even with 12 restaurants and 600 employees later, I can still say that I'm learning new things every day. Nevertheless, I can't deny the fact that I'm truly proud of what Kei Concept has become today.
As a business owner, especially in the foodservice industry, there are undoubtedly good days and hard days. But one thing that keeps me motivated on a day-to-day basis is delivering happiness and comfort to the community through extraordinary food & beverage experiences. And in turn, seeing the community respond in kind through overwhelming support further motivates me to continue providing for them. Truthfully, I love what I do, and I'm truly proud to be in the position that I am today. As a CEO and a leader, I thrive on seeing my team achieve their goals, hit their targets, and grow as individuals — this constantly motivates me to be a better leader for them.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I would definitely say that my greatest accomplishment as a business owner (so far) is being able to provide such a positive difference for Kei Concepts, its employees, and the community that's supporting our endeavors. Despite Kei Concepts being such a young company, I've already garnered an immense sense of accomplishment from seeing my hard work gradually develop into a business that is providing fulfilling careers, inspiring the AAPI community, and shifting the narrative of modern Asian cuisine. The greatest takeaway from being a part of such a young enterprise is that I'm just getting started — there are a lot more "greatest accomplishments" to be achieved.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The ability to make the right decisions. A lot of business owners struggle to make decisions because they either think too large of a picture or too detailed of a minor aspect. I always think the best decision is not the decision that satisfies everyone but the decision that is "the greatest good for the greatest numbers." As long as you know the decision that you made will produce the best outcome in the long run, then I believe it's the right decision.
One example of making a tough decision is implementing full Health care benefits ( full coverage in health benefits, dental, and vision) for our staff at Kei Concepts (both HQ and Restaurant) during the pandemic. I think during that time, most small businesses struggled to survive, and they tried to save as much money as they could. But, Kei concepts did the exact opposite. We spent a lot more to ensure our employees made enough for their families — we also wanted to provide "safety" so they could focus on working during the pandemic. Hence, I proposed a full health benefits system (100% health coverage, full coverage on dental and vision). My decision at that time definitely did not make our investors happy, but I still believe that treating the employees right is our key mission statement, and I will keep doing so regardless. Kei concepts were able to stabilize our key team during and immediately after the pandemic — those employees are still with us today.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Be self-disciplined, organized, and have a clear vision of what you want to do. You should always have an idea of what you are doing.
- Utilize your resources (successful people around you, business courses on youtube, Google what you don't know - only reliable sources, read books) and learn as much as you can. Don't limit yourself to what you can do. Having a great knowledge base is always the best.
- Don't focus on profits (during your first phase). Rather, focus on your plan, your people, and your vision. Know your priorities and have a great plan of execution.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
My background is in Finance, and I never worked in a restaurant before (prior to Kei Concepts) — I never thought of myself being able to run a business. I started working at Sup Noodle Bar, Buena Park, in 2014 as an Assistant Manager to support Viet, our Co - CEO at Kei Concepts at the time. I pushed myself to learn everything from scratch, from the basic "what is the difference between a full-service restaurant and an express restaurant model" to "How to set up a Quickbook account for a Restaurant" and "Business Management 101". And I learned everything on Youtube, Google, and Business Books (resources that I still utilize nowadays to learn)
Over time, I was able to learn so many other interesting things about running and growing not just a restaurant but a company through the projects that I run, the people that I have a chance to work with, and the vision for myself that I was able to build over the years. The point here is this: It's not about who you are now or what you know; it's more about "Who do you want to become in the future? Are you willing to challenge yourself to become a better version of yourself?".
I have met a lot of people who said they wanted to start a business, but they don't know where to begin or that they don't have enough experience, resources, or funds. To me, as long as "there is a will, there will be away." If you can list out a million reasons why you "can't" do something, why not do the opposite? List out the things that you "can" do instead, and have a plan to turn the "impossible things" into "possible."
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.keiconcepts.info/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keiconcepts/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kei.concepts/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/keiconcepts/
Sup Noodle Bar: https://www.instagram.com/supnoodlebar/
The Vox Kitchen: https://www.instagram.com/thevoxkitchen/
Gem Dining: https://www.instagram.com/gemdining/
Nep Cafe: https://www.instagram.com/nep.cafe/
Kin Craft Ramen & Izakaya: https://www.instagram.com/kincraftramen/
ROL Hand Roll Bar: https://www.instagram.com/rolhandroll/
INI Ristorante: https://www.instagram.com/iniristorante/
Kei Coffee House: https://www.instagram.com/keicoffeehouse/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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