HOLLAND, Mich. — A new Korean street food restaurant has opened in Holland, offering dishes such as corn dogs, spicy rice cakes, and tornado potato skewers, serving as a sign of the city’s growing cultural diversity.
Chef Phong Nguyen, originally from Vietnam, opened the second location of his K-Pocha restaurant in Holland at 12579 Felch St. three weeks ago.
“This has been a blessing, thank you to the community,” Nguyen said. "We have been doing really well. And the first couple weeks, we couldn't believe how busy we could get."
Nguyen previously owned Monsoon Vietnamese Cuisine in Grand Rapids and also operates K-Pocha Traverse City. He learned to cook after moving to West Michigan in 2013.
“I came to America and discovered that I missed my mom’s cooking so much. I called my mom literally every day to say, 'Mom, show me how to cook,'” he recalled.
K-Pocha’s menu features not only Korean fare but also foods from other Asian cultures, like skewers from Taiwan, Vietnamese pho, and Japanese ramen. They also sell customizable drinks.
“It’s important to not only introduce our cuisine to the community, but also teach them something new,” Nguyen said. “Food always brings people together. That’s the most important thing, and the culture is learning through the cuisine as well.”
The restaurant's arrival coincides with changes in Holland’s population.
“People think about Holland as being this Dutch community, but actually, we have a larger Hispanic population than a Dutch population,” said Mayor Nathan Bocks.
According to Census Reporter, Caucasians make up about 65% of residents in Holland, while Hispanics make up around 23%. 5% of residents is made up of African Americans, 3% is made up of Asians, and those identifying as two or more races are sitting at about 4%.
“We are also starting to see people moving in from a lot of different cultures,” Bocks said. "We've got Buddhist monks, we've got Bangladeshi pantomime shows, we've got Korean restaurants, we've got a large Hispanic population. We've got an African American population. That diversity in Holland not only makes us strong, it makes us beautiful. We are this incredible mix of people and cultures.”
Bocks also shared that his youngest daughter was adopted from South Korea.
“She’s incredibly Americanized, but is always looking for ways to connect to her own heritage. The fact that there’s a Korean restaurant here… she said, ‘Oh, I know about that restaurant, and I’m very excited to be able to go.’”
The city has taken active steps to welcome all residents.
“We want people to know that not only do they belong, that they’re wanted, that we want people here. We love you, and we encourage you to come here to Holland,” Bocks said.
Nguyen echoed the importance of bringing people together.
"Without community support, we wouldn’t be here the first day or the second day," Nguyen said. "That's our goal, to just bring more awareness of what Asian food can be. It's really good and delicious. And bring the community together as well as much as we can."
K-Pocha is open in Holland seven days a week as the city continues to grow and embrace greater diversity.
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