Another satisfied customer
Poké restaurant moves from Troy Kitchen into own home
TROY, N.Y. » Poké now has its own place in downtown Troy with the opening of Bespoki Bowl’s new location at 122 4th St.
Bespoki Bowl was originally born inside Troy Kitchen, a downtown food court business incubator, just more than a year ago, when owner Paul Park introduced poké, a flavorful Hawaiian raw fish-based dish, to the apital Region. Although it was a new concept to most customers, poké bowls quickly became a hit in the food court, and now, Bespoki Bowl has a home all its own in the building that former hosted The Flying Chicken.
Bespoki Bowl started doing business in its new home at the end of September, just in time for Troy Night Out, but will have an official grand opening and ribbon cutting at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday with the Downtown Troy Business Improvement District.
Park, who grew up in the Clifton Park area, first discovered poké while working in the restaurant industry in Los Angeles. Upon returning to upstate New York, he heard about Troy Kitchen and thought it could be a perfect opportunity to share this new food trend.
“It’s a very new concept to the area,” he said. “I was really nervous if there was a market for it.”
Park didn’t expect Bespoki Bowl to meet with quick success, but, to his own surprise, some customers did know about poké and were glad to have it available locally, while others were curious and willing to try it out. Park and his staff are still increasing awareness about poké, but it’s undoubtedly catching on.
Troy was the best place to introduce poké because the city has become hip, Park said.
“Troy kind of gentrified [while Park was living in California] and morphed into that kind of
area where things like this are able to succeed,” he said. “That’s cool.”
Furthermore, Park said Troy Kitchen was a great way to start his business.
“The low overhead was definitely a big reason why we were able to dip our toe in the restaurant industry,” Park said.
Troy Kitchen owner Cory Nelson is also glad he gave Bespoki Bowl a chance to serve poké in downtown Troy. Although he was unsure at first, Nelson saw poké was becoming popular elsewhere in the country, so he decided to see how it would go over in the Collar City.
“People loved it instantly,” Nelson said.
Now that Bespoki Bowl has its own restaurant, Nelson predicts it will continue to thrive. While he is losing a tenant, Nelson said he is most happy to see the city is growing and that vacant downtown properties are being filled as a result of his food court.
In the new, larger location, Bespoki Bowl now has an expanded menu. In addition to its staple Build Your Own Poki bowls — which come with options including marinated tuna, salmon, yellowtail, shrimp, tofu and crab salad — the eatery has added new menu items like Korean bulgogi bowls, a Japanese plate called Donkatsu, deepfried butterfly shrimp and another Hawaiian classic, Loco Moco. Menu items range from about $7 to $15.
Park said his goal for Bespoki Bowl is to become a place everyone knows and to keep expanding on the menu by bringing in new foods, especially unique ones that most people haven’t tried.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said.
Bespoki Bowl is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9: 30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, call 518-244-5347 or visit www.facebook.com/bespokibowl.