DUSDAC considering addition of ‘Korean Chipotle’

Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee is currently looking at Mixed Korean Truck to fill the space formerly held by Bull City Street Food.

The truck serves a variety of foods, from their classic bibimbap to chicken wings. Owner Jimmy Kim, Trinity ‘04, described the truck’s style as a “Korean Chipotle.” The truck offers similar menu items as the Chapel Hill restaurant owned by Kim, Mixed Casual Korean Bistro.

“The goal of food trucks is always to find a niche that we can’t fill with a brick-and-mortar store, and how we are going to bring that to campus,” said DUSDAC chair Brian Taylor, a senior.

Mixed received a very positive reaction from DUSDAC, with almost every member complimenting the taste and unique style of food the truck offered. What impressed committee members most, however, was its speed of service.

“The food came out in less than five seconds, which is pretty astonishing for a food truck,” said committee member Julia Medine, a sophomore.

While five seconds may not be the norm during a rush, Mixed Korean Truck would provide some of the fastest service on campus. The restaurant has catered HackDuke, the 24-hour programming event, several years in a row, each time serving approximately 600 people. During a rush, Kim explained, the truck serves a customer every 40 seconds.

“Anytime we see a food truck, even if they have pre-prepared stuff, it will take them a few minutes,” Medine said. “I think with a student population that is always bustling and moving around, [Mixed] has an amazing turnaround time.”

In his presentation, Kim also stressed the importance of balancing both health and taste. Led by Executive Chef Yurum Nam, Mixed offers gluten-free and vegetarian options, a major concern for any form of dining on campus. Although the truck does not currently list these options on its official menu, Mixed is willing to add and clearly label these items, Kim said.

Kim called himself a proud “Double Dukie.” He graduated from Trinity in 2004 and from the Fuqua School of Business in 2012, which was an appealing factor to the committee. Kim explained that he knows the community of Duke, and choosing Mixed would be sponsoring a homegrown business.

“I absolutely love Duke, and it would just be awesome to be back here serving the community,” Kim said.

Mixed is hoping to fill the vacancy created after Bull City Street Food failed to pass the vetting process. The vacancy means that currently the dumpling food truck Chirba Chirba is the only truck that operates on Mondays.It was previously reported that the committee plans to make its selection by October.

In other business:

Renovations for Marketplace are due to be completed by February 2016. Toward the end of the Fall semester, students will see areas currently under construction open up for use.