Bibibop Asian Grill, an Asian-Korean fast-casual restaurant company based in Ohio, has opened a new location next to Oak Park Mall in Overland Park, the company’s second in the metro area.
Located at 11875 W. 95th St., Bibibop Asian Grill’s first day open was Dec. 13.
Julie Leong-Hicks, district manager for Kansas City area locations, said the company’s food bowl concept fuses Asian and South Korean tastes and allows each customer to mix and match base ingredients, proteins, hot and cold vegetables and six sauces.
“Food is a medicine,” she said. “We have to eat all the time; we can make food to make us healthy. This is a place where you can get healthy food, and you also get to eat a good meal.”
The restaurant’s name is a spinoff of a famous dish in South Korea called bibimbap — in Korean, bibim literally means “mixed vegetables” and bap means “cooked rice.”
Bibimbap food bowls traditionally have specific ingredients, but that’s where the fusion comes in, Leong-Hicks said. For instance, customers can add black beans, fried potatoes and other tastes not common to this South Korean dish. Nearly every ingredient is gluten-free, and the restaurant also offers free miso soup for customers.
“These are really traditional, rice and japchae,” she said. “And the organic tofu is one of our best-selling items.”
Leong-Hicks had first opened a restaurant in the Waldo area, at 75th and Wornall in Kansas City, Missouri. She will open her third location Jan. 7 at 135th and Metcalf in Overland Park.
Hours of operation for the Oak Park restaurant are 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.