Who remembers Bobby's Burger?
A sort of reverse "Piper Perri Surrounded" image adorns the Bobby's Burger website in January 2011. Screenshot from Wayback Machine
This week's featured restaurant is a throwback to the olden days of Seoul. It was 15 years ago, when if you wanted a burger, there weren't many options better than Lotteria or Kraze — not even in a lively, cosmopolitan place like the nightlife area in front of Hongik University, or Hongdae.
Then an unlikely challenger arose: Bob Sapp, an American mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler, actor, former football player — and burger restaurateur — who has spent much of his career in Japan.
For all too briefly around 2010-11, Bobby's Burger had its Hongdae location on the second floor of a small building right across the street from the main gate of Hongik University, next door to — appropriately — the original Bob's Barbie hot dog place.
A promotional image for Bobby's Burger / Courtesy of Hanul Corp.
This was part of the schtick that Bobby's Burger offered: While dining there, you would be confronted with images of an often mostly shirtless Bob Sapp all over the place, his insatiable appetite on display in one way or another. Many photos featured him posing with groups of attractive Asian women, accompanied by suggestive slogans like “Eat, Drink & Run!” If the innuendo isn’t clear, one particular image shows Sapp holding a plate of burgers directly in front of a woman’s derriere. While this approach might have resonated with those familiar with his personality, it wasn’t for everyone — especially in Korea, particularly during that era.
A promotional image for Bobby's Burger makes a pretty obvious juxtaposition. Courtesy of Hanul Corp.
But the burgers were fantastic. For those days, certainly. I can't remember anything wrong with them, although options were slim then and it's likely the much greater variety and quality of burger joints these days has spoiled my standards. The price for one burger was 7,500 won, which even back then seemed pretty reasonable.
I also recall later on discovering that the restaurant had a breakfast menu, and served some pretty good breakfast food, back when that was even harder to find than a decent burger. And it had shakes. Basically, anything the place served was generally excellent, and not overpriced.
I still have a mousepad from Bobby's Burger in my collection. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar
There were other locations as well, and it looks like the main one was in Apgujeong. Bobby's Burger was a proper burger shop, back when Korea was still struggling with how to make burgers. If it were to open today, it probably wouldn't get a lot of attention among the dozens if not hundreds of similar-quality restaurants.
Bob Sapp had the indignity of his statue remaining on the ledge of his former restaurant in Hongdae for years after its closure. Screenshot from Naver Map April 2012
It's clear that Sapp didn't play much of a role in the place beyond being its face, but he sure served memorably in that role. He is known to have visited Seoul many times, with one user on Dave's ESL Cafe claiming to have met him in a nightclub in 2010, describing him as being "as big as a house."
The franchise plan seems to have been masterminded by a Hanul Corporation, but I can't find information about the fate of the company. Likewise, it's difficult to look up old information on Bobby's Burger, since there have since been so many others with the same or a similar name — even a popular animated TV show.
After Bobby's Burger closed its Hongdae location in 2010, a statue of Sapp remained on the edge of the roof for years. The restaurant that moved in next kept the half-naked statue, repurposed somewhat tastelessly to advertise tteokbokki. The building is still on that corner, the same space now housing an Isaac Toast & Coffee.
I never met you, Bob Sapp, but I'd rather have a burger from your restaurant than any of the other branded restaurants of celebrity chefs currently swamping the market. You might have to put on some pants though.