The minds behind some of Manhattan’s favorite new Korean concepts are cooking up a brand new restaurant space for the East Village.
Ariari is a new restaurant concept from owners Kihyun Lee and Jinan Choi. Lee and Choi are best known as two of the founders of Hand Hospitality, a critically acclaimed hospitality company that has developed an impressive portfolio of restaurant concepts since establishing itself in 2011. Their first restaurant, Take31, sought to break the standard of New York Korean restaurants by creating a casual-chic Korean dining experience that catered to New York locals and Korean internationals alike.
After achieving critical success with Take31, the Hand Hospitality Team began to steadily expand with successful new concepts like Cup & Cup and Izakaya Mew in 2013 and Her Name is Han in 2015. The team would go on to establish recognizable concepts like Atmoix, Nonono, Cho Dang Gol and Littlemad. In 2020, Hand Hospitality partnered with acclaimed Chef Hoyoung Kim to launch the now-Michelin-starred Jua, a contemporary Korean restaurant that uses ancient wood-firing techniques to create an original tasting menu.
This year, the team has already launched two popular new concepts – their chef-driven Japanese restaurant Towa with dishes from Chef Shirai, and their new Korean Tapas restaurant, PALPAL. Now, Lee, Choi, and the rest of the Hand Hospitality team are getting ready to debut a brand new restaurant at 119 First Avenue, in between East Seventh Street and St Marks Place.
Their newest restaurant, Ariari, is envisioned as a new Korean restaurant and will be moving into the space that was previously occupied by Oiji. Oiji is a well known, critically acclaimed Korean restaurant that has been at the heart of NYC’s modern Korean movement for years. They sadly closed their original East Village location in Spring, but before closing they thankfully opened up a brand new space in Flatiron called Oiji Mi that is now open and ready for business.
As a former Korean restaurant, the former Oiji space is well-equipped to meet the needs of Lee and Choi. The space will feature a small 3-seat bar and enough tables to seat about 54 guests at one time. For the menu, Ariari will be serving up an assortment of traditional Korean dishes like Hwe, Oyster Pancakes, Pan Fried Chicken, Bulgogi, Short Rib and Octopus Stew, and snacks like Fried Korean Pretzels, among many other mouthwatering dishes.
Currently, Lee and Choi are in the process of acquiring a full restaurant liquor license for the space. They are currently proposing operating hours of 11:30 – 12:00 AM , Sunday through Thursday, and 11:30 AM – 1:00 AM Friday and Saturday. While the team is still very early into development and has yet to launch Ariari’s social media channels, you can check out Hand Hospitality’s impressive portfolio of restaurants to get a sense of what’s to come.
