Being a pioneer is never easy. It’s even more difficult when the uncharted terrain includes the red tape of Atlanta’s bureaucracy. Add to that the disability of being deaf since birth and Carson Young’s success is even more impressive.
As one of the city’s first food truck owners, Young has let nothing stand in the way of bringing street food to the city.
The 28-year-old Buckhead resident burst onto the culinary landscape in 2010 with Yumbii, one of the first food trucks. Young went to the West Coast to find the right truck, then outfitted it, transported it back to Georgia and slogged through an array of licensing and permitting hoops to get permission to roll. With no food training but a solid business plan, he came up with a menu that incorporated his favorite flavors from Asia, Latin America, Mexico and Korea. His “funky, far-out food” of fish tacos and sesame fries was such a hit, he added a second Yumbii truck last year.
Two weeks ago, Young once again found himself at the forefront of the city’s food scene with the arrival of what’s being dubbed Atlanta’s first “pop-up” restaurant. A 120-seat, full-service version of Yumbii has temporarily taken over the former Grape location in Atlantic Station, where it offers a full bar, table service, a patio and entertainment.
A “pop-up” eatery serves several purposes, Young said. First, it gives the rolling restaurant a chance to find out if a brick-and-mortar location can draw the same loyal fan base.
“We already have a following at Atlantic Station, so this was a good chance to find out if we’re ready,” said Young. “It’s not a lot of investment. We’re using the tables, chairs and equipment that were already in place. And we have the trucks as advertisements to get the word out that we’re here.”
Having the restaurant fills a need for Atlantic Station, said Liz Gillespie, the property’s marketing director. It adds another food destination for the crowds expected to flock there for the BB&T Atlanta Open, a tennis championship scheduled July 14-22. It also provides an unusual opportunity.
“We were ready to try something new to energize that space and we saw a great chance to incubate a new restaurant,” said Gillespie. “We held a contest, knowing that there were up-and-coming chefs and food trucks that might want this great corner space with patio seating and a full kitchen. So we invited people to submit plans.”
Yumbii, already a regular at Atlantic Station’s Food Truck Fridays, beat out a dozen entries.
“We felt they’d be a good fit to the property,” said Gillespie, an admitted fan of Yumbii's tacos topped with Korean barbecue sauce. “It’s exciting to see them take this step.”
To pull off the pop-up, Young enlisted the resources of partner Johnny Liu, a friend since the two were teens. Liu’s family owns Cafe at Pharr, a multi-location eatery, and Yumbii chefs prepare the truck food from the Cafe location on Chattahoochee Avenue. The pop-up restaurant menu includes some of the Cafe’s most popular items, including pastry rolls and chicken salad.
Liu is also a partner in the Brookhaven restaurant Baci and he called on the expertise of chef Nellie Chudnovsky to ease the transition from truck to table.
“We know people expect quality and consistency, so what we do here has to be the same as on the trucks,” said Chudnovsky. “I think it’s even better because you can sit down and have it brought to you.”
Young and his partners have added other features to help make the stationary Yumbii a success. They’ve converted a secondary room into a venue for music and comedy shows. They send servers into the crowd at the Thursday night “Movies in the Park” to take orders. And they’re plugging into every social media outlet to spread the word.
Facebook and Twitter have been key components of Young’s success so far. To counter his disability, the Woodward Academy grad relies heavily on the written word to connect to customers. But he does speak, is expert at reading lips and is not hesitant to interact with customers.
“Talking to Carson takes a little getting used to,” said Liu. “Some of our friends say at first they didn’t quite understand him, but after a while, there’s no problem. I’ve known him so long, I know exactly what he’s saying. I speak Mandarin and he even knows when I’m speaking that. He’ll jab me and say, ‘You were saying something you didn’t want me to understand!’ Even without speaking, you can feel Carson’s excitement and passion.”
The pop-up will pop-out on August 5, but Gillespie said Atlantic Station management hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a longer stay.
“We’re just looking for a really great fit,” she said. “We’ve spent a year re-crafting our approach to appeal to the Midtown market, so we’re always open to concepts that also capture that.”
If a permanent space doesn’t work out, Young will go back to concentrating on the trucks.
“We know we want to have a Yumbii restaurant, but are we ready?” Young asked. “After this, we’ll know.”
Yumbii "Pop Up"
265 18th Street, Atlanta
404.747.2297; www.yumbii.com
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 10:30 a.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays; 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays
Features: Table service, full bar, patio, entertainment
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