November 12, 2026
Q&A: Notable soups, Seoul Food bankruptcy
Each week, we answer reader questions about food and drink in Charlotte
Q: The weather is getting cold this weekend. Where are your favorite restaurant soups to warm me up?
Tom: For me, the GOAT of Charlotte soups is the onion soup at 300 East in Dilworth, as I written about on several occasions. I’m also a big fan of the silky pork broth found in Tonkotsu (sometimes spelled Tonkatsu) ramen. Menya Daruma in Elizabeth offers two great ones, one featuring black onion oil, the other fermented chili sauce. 2026 UPPY Chef of the Year Robin Anthony recently added his take on the ramen at Prime Fish Cellar in Cotswold which includes pork sausage made by his mom. Also in Cotswold, Eddie’s Place does an old-school she-crab soup, complete with a side flask of sherry. Longtime patron’s of Eastover’s Fenwick’s were happy to note that even after new ownership, the house’s signature tomato bisque still headlines the menu. The lemony Chicken Avgolemono soup at Ilios Crafted Greek with five area locations from the brothers Kaltsounis (Angelo and Frank) and Stratos Lambos is a bona fide winner. Finally, you can never go wrong with Calle Sol’s (Plaza Midwood and SouthPark) black bean soup.
Q: I heard Seoul Food Meat Co. has filed for bankruptcy. Does that mean it’s closing? That’s one of my favorite places.
Tom: You and many others. Seoul Food Meat Company and Let’s Meat KBBQ Corp. filed separate Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases on Oct. 29 in federal bankruptcy court in Charlotte. The businesses are run by Tim Chun and Lisa Kamura. Seoul Food operates in South End and the Mill District, and its filing also lists Urban District Market and MOB Group as names it does business under. Local reporting cites cash-flow problems, costly merchant cash advances, and about $112,000 in monthly rent obligations. The reported $4.8 million is in unsecured creditor claims. The initial petitions give broader estimates for total liabilities of $10 million to $50 million for Seoul Food and $1 million to $10 million for Let’s Meat. Those figures are preliminary. For now, nothing changes. Chapter 11 allows the businesses to keep operating while they work through their debts. On Nov. 3, the judge gave Seoul Food interim permission to use cash collateral, cover pre-filing payroll and related expenses, and keep its existing bank accounts. As of Nov. 12, both Seoul Food locations and Let’s Meat still post regular hours, and Urban District Market is advertising upcoming events. So, fingers crossed they are able to work through this.
