Riverside Korean; Covington, KY

(Pictured is Riverside's traditional floor seating. I've been told that is particularly popular among families and kids.)

Bruce is not the first owner of Riverside. In fact, he is the third. He was originally introduced to the restaurant by a friend, who's brother was the second owner. At the time he was living in Chicago working as a truck driver. His friend marketed the job as a change of scenery and Bruce decided to take it. Bruce had no prior experience in the restaurant world. He's not a chef by trade, but in 2006 he started his career at Riverside as a dishwasher. For eight years he worked as an employee, until he eventually bought the restaurant in 2014. Since then he has also acquired the building that Riverside resides in, and has opened up two other Korean-inspired restaurants in the Covington area (Mr. Bulgogi and Chimaek).

During his time as owner, he has strived to bring authentic Korean food to the city. Just like what his mom made growing up.

The Riverside menu could be described as general Korean or traditional Seoul food (Seoul being the capital of South Korea). Since the beginning, it has undergone many changes. Originally, the menu was jam-packed with traditional Korean dishes, like raw fish, beef intestines and tongue. Things that, unfortunately, wouldn't go over very well with the largely American customer base. Of course, there were always the brave few that would order them but never enough to justify keeping them on the menu. Nowadays, Riverside's menu still brings a wide-variety of dishes but they're much less 'scary' to the average Kentuckian.

The most popular dish is, by far, the Dolsot Bibimbap, but the grilled dinners, and vegetable and seafood pancakes (Jeon) are also strong contenders. Riverside can accommodate to special diets such as vegetarian, gluten free, and nut-free as well.

Once again, the Korean food comes from Chicago, while things like vegetables come from wholesalers like Sysco. For ingredients, Bruce has mainly been able to keep a majority of the ingredients the same. The only exception would be a change from baby Napa cabbage to full-sized Napa cabbage.

If Bruce could add one item to the menu it would be Samgyetang (삼계탕), or ginseng Cornish hen soup. He does make it every once in a while and it does well, but the process for making it is a long one. For drinks, he's currently trying to get his hands on Makgeolli (), a fizzy rice wine, but it's been a challenge.

Riverside runs on regulars. However, they do see new faces in the form of students from the surrounding universities. Bruce says they see about 80% American and 20% Asian regulars. Though, Sundays are a bit of an anomaly, with the demographics changing closer to 50/50.

Like Sake Bomb, Riverside appreciates their customer base but doesn't aim to cater to the general public. The goal is to stay as authentic as possible. You come to experience food the way it was meant to be made, served, and eaten.

When asked if Riverside has been well-received, Bruce stated that Covington has been "welcoming them with open arms." He believes that the city has shown that they need and want them, with the restaurant routinely being rated one of the top performing Asian restaurants in the area for many years. Covington even helped support them and other small businesses throughout the Pandemic. Bruce also stated that Covington is the perfect place for a Korean restaurant because it's a city that's expanding. He thinks it has a shot at becoming the next Over The Rhine (a trendy district within downtown Cincinnati). Needless to say, Bruce has big plans for Riverside.

Bruce gave his two cents into the Korean and Korean restaurant community within the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region. He knows at least most of the restaurant owners within the area, and says that he doesn't feel like they're in competition with one another. He feels like he knows a majority of the Korean community here as well. His breakdown was similar to Euisuk's, with the biggest groups being younger or retirees.

Bruce feels like he has a certain responsibility to uphold quality within his restaurant. Especially after the publicity and recognition Riverside has received.