Only for you: one-person service gains popularity

One table restaurant In New York offers private moment with fine dining.
/ Courtesy of In New York

More customers choosing personalized shops

By Kwon Mee-yoo

The definition of luxury service is shifting toward private, customized places to cater to a growing preference for alone time among today's customers. They go to tiny restaurants with only one table and cut their hair at a hole-in-the-wall beauty shop for a more personalized service.

In New York, a pioneer of one table restaurant in Korea, is located in a quiet back alley of Apgujeong. Established in 2004, In New York first introduced the idea of a one table restaurant in Korea.

"This space was originally a garage," said Kang Young-dae, In New York's owner and head chef. "A change of conception about dining out resulted in a restaurant with only a table. I didn't know it would be this successful,"

The restaurant offers dinner on weekdays and brunch and dinner on weekends. The place became a favorite of visitors who wanted to propose in a private space with quality food. Kang said majority of the guests are young couples, while he sees a wider range of guests from elderly people to housewives spending daytime for brunch.

The fine dining course served at In New York is quite basic. It starts with appetizers of shrimp, cheese and tomato and continues to mushroom salad and pasta, complete with tenderloin steak and tiramisu for dessert.

"It is not fancy, but our customers like the simplicity and quality of our food," Kang said.

To accommodate each customer's food habits, Kang only accepts reservations via telephone. "Communication is the key and I think it could be done better talking on the phone rather than sending an e-mail."

By the Cut in Donggyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, is a beauty salon for one customer at a time. / Courtesy of By the Cut

Serving only one table at a time seems not a financially feasible way to operate a business, but Kang said the secret is minimal spending on staff and sensible amount of food supplies.

"This place is small and the rent is relatively cheap. I also work alone, so there is no need to pay employees. I buy groceries just for the day's cooking," he said.

"More and more people are seeking their personal space. If this place was a big restaurant, it might not have survived for a decade. But In New York is a restaurant that cherishes memory and that is why it could have been popular over the years," the chef said.

The price of In New York's dinner course begins from 110,000 won and brunch from 55,000 won.

The increase of single-person household has influenced a personalized culture. According to the National Statistical Office, 23.9 percent of whole household was composed of one person as of 2010. The major expense of a one-person household is entertainment and the service industry such as beauty.

DAL Kitchen's DAL burger is solely made from vegeterian ingredients such as potato, burdock, taro and other seasonal vegetables with homemade vegan mayonnaise. / Courtesy of DAL Kitchen

Kim Yong-seob, life trend researcher at the Edged Imagination Research Institute, said consumers are becoming individualized. "They don't want to share a space with someone else and need something just for them," Kim said. "As individualism, which regards highly of personal achievement and value, spreads out across our society, people tend to care more about their own joy and well-being. Personal service at private space gratifies their desire."

As more people seek customized, private service, some hairdressers and fitness centers are also offering one-on-one service.

Kim Mi-young, operating a beauty salon for one customer at a time named By the Cut in Donggyo-dong, Seoul, said hairstyling is suitable for one-to-one personal service.

"Customers don't have to wait and I can concentrate on a customer, fully providing the service each of them needs. It is easy to talk about your favorite style when you are alone with the hairdresser," Kim said.

While other one table restaurants are more centered on romantic events, DAL Kitchen puts emphasis on its food. Nestled in a residential area between Sinchon and Sangsu area, the workroom-restaurant serves food made of local produce.

Kang Ji-min, owner of DAL Kitchen, moved here about a year ago. DAL Kitchen is basically Kang's workroom, but she serves one or two groups of people a day by reservation only.

"I ran a cafe in Dongtan, a satellite city of Seoul, but it was stressful for me to serve the same dishes throughout the year, because I had to use out-of-season ingredients to make them," she said. "I wanted to make a restaurant that serves seasonal food, not year-round signature dish."

She picked this quiet residential area to open the workroom and restaurant because she wanted to have a talk with her customers.

DAL Kitchen's dinner is priced around 20,000 to 40,000 won. In June, Kang serves soy milk with peas, whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce and sangria with locally-produced fruits. "Peas go well with soy milk beyond expectations. Tomato is just in season and I cooked it thoroughly in ratatouille style," Kang explained. "Vegetables for salads come from Flower Raining Farm in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province."

Kang said it is important to find the right seasonal ingredients. "I cook with in-season vegetables from local farms. I want to talk about where the ingredients come from and how I made it," Kang said. "I am not a strict vegetarian but pursue a vegan diet. So my cooking is mostly vegan, but I want non-vegetarian people to come and enjoy how wonderful vegetable dishes can be."

Most of the customers are office workers who come after work to have a simple but healthy dinner. Though Kang opened the restaurant for those who are food-conscious and interested in vegetarian diet, she found a group of new customers who wanted to dine at a private space just for them.

"It is difficult to find a quiet place with great service where customers can talk in a relaxed atmosphere. It was interesting that they look for one table restaurant to have quality time," Kang said.

Customers of such one table restaurants like the sense of discovering hidden treasure and don't want their hangout to become too popular.

"It was difficult to find out about DAL Kitchen at first because there was not much information on the Internet. But when I visited the restaurant without a sign and menu, I was fascinated with the food which was prepared just for me," Kim Ji-young, an office worker who had been to the one table restaurant, said.

Kim said it was interesting to see the chef cooking right next to the table. "I could see what vegetables are used for my food and the chef explained each dish. My favorite was the Oriental-style pasta with doenjang (soybean paste)," Kim said.

List of shops providing one-to-one service

●In New York
7 Eonju-ro 159-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea
http://blog.naver.com/ciel_ssong
02-541-1373

●Dal Kitchen
8 Seogang-ro 11-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Korea
http://www.facebook.com/DalKitchen
010-4711-2874

●By the Cut
21 Donggyo-ro 30-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Korea
02-337-3314