FROM FOOD TO ENGLISH
Extension of restaurant to teach English in Troy
TROY, N.Y.» One local restaurant is expanding its reach, offering more than just food with the debut of Sunhee’s Community Place.
Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen, a Korean eatery opened by local entrepreneur Jinah Kim in 2016, is opening another spot in downtown Troy. Instead of serving food, however, Sunhee’s Community Place will offer services.
Sunhee’s ongoing program of free adult English classes are currently transitioning over to the new space, which is located at 173 Fourth St., just around the corner from the Ferry Street restaurant.
This new arm of the business wasn’t part of Kim’s plan when she started the restaurant two years ago, “but I think it developed into that because we just felt like we needed a way to channel our programs,” she said.
Since late 2016, Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen has offered English classes at the restaurant for its employees as well as anyone in the community. The classes, taught by Kim, are held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, when the restaurant is closed, so staff members can attend.
This effort started with just a couple people, but has grown to include about five to 10 students per class. “It’s a great mix of staff and non-staff and community members,” Kim said, adding that mostly all of them are from Troy.
“Anyone can come and just get started right away. It’s a very easy enrollment process.”
— Jinah Kim, local entrepreneur
One thing they don’t have in common, however, is a native language. Students from Burmese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Afghani, Chinese and Japanese cultures have all participated together in the classes at Sunhee’s.
It can be challenging to teach, Kim said, but she likes that it forces the students to only speak English to one another. “It’s the same reason why I love our kitchen so much. Everyone speaks different languages, but you learn to communicate. There’s a beauty about that.”
The classes sometimes include field trips and tours too. “So we can incorporate a lot of different, real community elements to the learning experience,” she said.
Looking ahead, with the larger space, Kim would like to have two different class levels to include an option for more advanced speakers.
Anybody is welcome to join the Sunhee’s school, simply by showing up for class. Because the program does not depend on outside funding, there are no requirements regarding age or status of students.
“Anyone can come and just get started right away,” Kimsaid. “It’s a very easy enrollment process.” New students are given an assessment, typically after their first class, to determine their level
Along with these English classes, Kim also aims to expand Sunhee’s Adult Computer Education (ACE) Program at the new community place. This is a more one-on-one program where participants and volunteers partner to purchase a laptop, and spend 10 weeks, about 20 hours working through the program.
Additionally, Sunhee’s recently launched a Emerging Entrepreneurs Fellowship program, through which the business will welcome a new fellow in September. This person will help grow the business and its many unique facets.
While some of what Sunhee’s is doing sounds like a charitable organization, the restaurant is a forprofit business model. “All of the funding comes from the restaurant,” Kim said. “Yes, we have these community educational programs, but we want to be self sustaining in financing those programs.”
Sunhee’s Community Place could also potentially be part of the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI). If the city of Troy is chosen as a grant recipient, Sunhee’s would develop the property’s back garage into a commercial kitchen for kimchi production. This would create more jobs, Kim said, allowing for the hiring of more refugees and immigrants, and would be a good catalyst for the community place.
Though still in its preliminary stages of planning, the 171-173 Fourth St. property, which Sunhee’s purchased last December, certainly has potential.
Kim envisions the new Community Place as a welcoming environment and a hub of all things Sunhee’s. “I think there’s a lot of potential there of being this mixed-use space,” she said, “one that’s both for the com- munity and with the community and providing services for everyone here.”
That said, “I’m still open to ideas,” Kim added. She wants Sunhee’s Community Place to match the wants and needs of the community.
Whether its manufacturing, a retail storefront, educational programs, special events, something else or any mixture of these - will be determined in the coming months not only by Kim, but the Sunhee’s family and the greater Troy community. “I want input from people around us,” she said.
Regardless which direction the project goes, Kim said while walking around the property, “I want to just bring it all to life.”
More information about Sunhee’s Community Place and Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen is available online at www.sunhees.com.