Uptown Waterloo is home to a new dining experience with the Kin Gyu Japanese Grill opening at 15 King St. N. The restaurant features 28 tables with built-in grills, each with its own ventilation system.
This is the third restaurant in the region for local restauranteur Jin Chen. In addition to Kin Gyu, Chen is the owner of Kinkaku Izakaya in downtown Kitchener and Jinzakaya in uptown Waterloo.
Creating new places to share her love of Asian cuisines is something that comes naturally to Chen. Growing up in Scarborough, Chen said that seemingly everyone in her family was involved in the restaurant business.
“All my family members—aunts, uncles, cousins—everybody is in the industry. So, ever since I was young, I have had the opportunity to work in these restaurants where you literally have to learn everything, from the cash register to how to use the fryer. I was cooking in a wok in my teens,” she said.
Chen’s first restaurant in the area was Kinkaku Izakaya on King St., which she purchased from its previous owners in 2016. At the time, Chen was running a restaurant in Red Deer, Alberta, but she wanted to move back to Ontario to be closer to her aging parents. Her sister was in university in Waterloo, and she said Kitchener made the most sense for her family.
“I came here because my sister was here for school. My first intention was to buy a house here, but instead of buying a house, I ended up getting a restaurant,” Chen said.
“You know, after a few years, you realize, damn, the house would have made a lot more money,” she said.
In 2019, she opened Jinzakaya. Chen said the reputation they had built with Kinkaku helped them build a customer base at Jinzakaya, even though they were restricted to takeout orders.
“There are great people here who help. The City of Waterloo put in effort to help local businesses, and the Uptown Waterloo BIA really stepped in to help us get our patio licensed and built to get more business and keep the doors open,” Chen said.
Chen said that the success of her three restaurants comes down to her staff.
“I got very lucky with all the staff members we have. They are very caring and responsible, and they treat the restaurant and customers like their own,” Chen said.
“Most of them have worked with me for years, and that makes a difference when customers come in and see familiar faces every time,” she said.
Kin Gyu is a marked departure from Chen’s other two restaurants. Chen said she was inspired by the Canadian love of barbecuing.
Chen worked with her real estate partner, Ryan Kaittin from Cushman & Wakefield Waterloo Region, to find the location in the renovated retail space along King St. She said the response to Kin Gyu has been great so far.
“I have Kinkaku. I have Jinzakaya. I thought it was time to do something different. The more things a city has, the better it is,” she said.
“I feel like Waterloo is such a great and growing city. I wanted to build something unique here,” Chen said.
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