We were lucky to catch up with Lynn Hobart recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lynn, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

It all began as an idea during Covid. I had just had my first child/daughter Namiko who is now 4. Two weeks after I gave birth the lock down happened and life as I knew it changed drastically. At the time I owned a different food pop up/business with my daughter’s father called South Philly Steaks. We had also just bought a brand new trailer out of Georgia right before Covid hit too. Prior to that we had been popping up as a tent pop up, and we also had a food stall inside of The Workshop, which was an upscale food court concept in downtown Charleston. I was super nervous about how our business would do during this tough time, and I was also worried about the safety of our new baby. However, the money and our livelihood still had to keep flowing in or we would otherwise be screwed. We did not have much of a safety net of savings. Especially after the purchase of the food truck. The good news was that we were still able to run the food truck during covid, unlike full service restaurants that had to all close down. But, navigating our truck and being new at that was daunting to say the least, and many mistakes were made during those times. I knew even prior to Namiko being born that I wanted to start a business that focused around my background and heritage of being Korean. When I moved from NYC 5 years prior there was very little diversity not only in the food and beverage scene, but even just the asian population in Charleston was low.

When Namiko would be napping I would go on YouTube or social media and I quickly noticed a trend with korean food, and specifically korean corn dogs. The lightbulb went off in my head! I loved to cook all types of cuisines including korean food so that was a no brainer for me. However, I wanted to do something that was not yet here on the food scene at all, but would also be in enough of a demand that people would want it, and I could make a decent earning from. I felt something pulling me towards Korean corn dogs. I thought to myself, “a corndog is so nostalgic, and everyone loves a good corndog”. I lived in NYC for almost six years and worked next to K-town for almost two years. So I often indulged in korean bbq, and korean foods overall. I had loved the Korean corn dogs I had tried in NYC. Well, over the course of the next almost 9 months to a year there was a lot of trial and error with the creation of the korean corn dogs. I thought it would be super easy. It is just dough right? It was super hard to figure out the exact dough recipe, and a lot of tweaks have been made over the years. Especially when you are trying to make them for the masses.

At my first pop up inside the kitchen of Charleston Fermentory in West Ashley, I had made one Facebook post on a local charleston food page a day or so before the pop up. I got so many responses from the post. When the pop-up finally came I was slammed. From that day forward I knew I had something really unique and special. I was also so happy to be able to bring more diverse food to Charleston, and represent Asian women entrepreneurs. I have always believed in being the change you want to see, and being one step ahead of the trends. To see what is coming and becoming the trailblazer for that concept/business. I am proud to show my daughter everyday what it looks like to be a woman, a mother, and a small business owner.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am first and foremost a mother to my wonderful 4 year old daughter Namiko. She is the light of the life and the biggest daily motivator for me. I grew up in upstate NY, graduated from Binghamton University with a Bachelor’s in Business and Liberal Arts. I moved to NJ in my early twenties, lived in NYC for a portion of my twenties and into my early thirties before migrating down to Myrtle Beach where my sister and parents now lived. I met my daughter’s father a year later and he lived in Charleston so naturally I moved down there to be with him. I felt more inclined to live in Charleston. I saw a need for certain diversity in foods, and other things too. However, food is what ended up becoming my calling. I initially started and ran a food pop-up that turned into a food truck called South Philly Steaks with my partner at the time Josh. I ended up branching off in another direction and starting Seol Ah’s towards the end of 2021. What started off as a hobby turned into a thriving career and business. Never in a million years did I envision myself doing what I do today. But as I sit in the present day I could not imagine doing anything else really. My background is in sales management and marketing. But my passion was cooking for family, friends, and entertaining. I started doing it for fun as a food pop up at farmers markets.

The biggest problem I solve for my customers is I bring some of their favorite korean street foods to Charleston. I try to do it with a creative flare and with the best experience I can offer. I am most proud of the fact that I am now a single mother, a female minority business owner who supports her family solely from her business, and can inspire my daughter daily to do whatever she sets her mind to. I also love to mentor other young aspiring business owners. Charleston has been nothing but supportive of me and my business and I am super grateful for that.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe what helped me build my reputation within my market was me talking and connecting to as many customers as I possibly could. At every event I did I would try and take the time to learn about the people would come and support my business. People do not forget that. They appreciate that customer experience and conversation. It helped me create my brand and stand out from others.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I first started doing farmers markets as a food pop up I would literally stand at at the front of the tent and hand out food samples and flyers. I would try to talk to anyone who walked by. I would walk around the market and try to meet as many vendors as possible and also buy and support from them too. I have always tried to capitalize and make the most out of every situation. When you put your mind to something you can do so much more than you ever thought imaginable. At the farmers market at the Tanger Outlet’s in North Charleston I even went to every single store and handed out coupons and menus. I introduced myself to all the sales associates. Eventually we gained a lot of repeat customers from the tanger employees. So even if it was a slow market, the employees themselves would still show up and support our food pop up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://seolahs.com
• Instagram: @seol_ahs
• Facebook: Seol Ah’s Korean Corn Dogs

Image Credits

Joe Rubio