Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1518483
110 maconmagazine.com | April/May 2024 When you go, try the Kimchijeon (scallion pancakes), hot-stone bibimbap with squid, the kimbab (rice, veggie, and crab seaweed roll served warm), and, of course – some of the namesake kimchi that won Miyang her fame. Don't forget the fresh-from-Korea chrysanthemum and preserved lemon teas. Once a meat-and-three, the building had seen heavy service for nearly a century, then laid untouched for years, as few saw the attraction of a squat building hidden in a parking lot — behind an aging dry-cleaner, an extended-stay hotel, and the bricked-over rear windows of the otherwise attractive Bootle Federal Building and Courthouse. "It looked terrible," she admitted. "But I felt something. I thought, could this finally be the place?" After a deep breath, Miyang asked her landlady, "When can I start?" THE NEW FACTORY OPENS It took two and half years to clean up the old place and turn it into the warm, glowing-red maze of cozy dining rooms that Miyang delights in today, a place full of memories with her daughters, who have helped her every step of the way; two still work at the restaurant with her. But, by the time the restaurant was almost ready to open, the pandemic struck. Miyang waited as long as she could, but by summer 2020, time was running short on a financial return. "Finally, I had to just set a date and pray it would be okay," she recalled. "I said, 'July 6, and come what may.'" That first day nearly four years ago, only two customers came – and one was the mechanic who repaired the air conditioner. Miyang sent him home with a free meal. But the next day, the media arrived, and thanks to viral word of mouth and a short interview that Miyang had no idea was live, within hours, there was a line snaking all the way through the parking lot to the street. They served over three hundred people on day two. "Me, my daughters, all the employees, we did not even have a chance to go to the bathroom, could not even eat a single piece of candy. It was hard even to breathe," she remembered. "But I was so happy, so proud." A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH MACON Over the past four years, business has ebbed and ABOVE Miyang and her brothers eat together on a visit to Gwanju. Photo courtesy of Miyang. flowed, but never wavered. "It's not easy to run a restaurant," she said. "Staffing is difficult, prices are always changing, and it can be hard to get the ingredients you need. Opening during COVID-19 was a big, big challenge. Plus, I make mistakes," she says, the weight of sole business ownership clearly on her brow. "But here I have so many people looking out for me, so many people helping me." There's no place she'd rather have her restaurant than in Macon, she insisted. "One thing that is so special about Macon is my customers here. They always pray for me, they cheer me up, they worry about me. They are wonderful customers — so patient. When they come eat, it is not just like a customer and the owner. We have a special relationship." FUTURE FACTORIES Miyang hopes those relationships will continue to grow along with her business. What's next for her? She wants to franchise, spreading healthy food made with love even further. After all, she's a Macon institution now, with her business featured in publications like Garden and Gun and Forbes. "People ask me, why don't you start selling autographs?" Miyang said, shaking her head. "But this is not my glory. It's not mine; it is for everybody that was there for me. Every day is a miracle, and I am just so grateful, so happy." They served over three hundred people on day two. " Me, my daughters, all the employees ... It was hard [for us] even to breathe. But I was so happy, so proud."