Worcester Business Journal

N early 18 months after open- ing their first restaurant – deadhorse hill – Woods, Forman & LaValley plan on opening Korean restau- rant simjang on Shrewsbury Street this fall. What is up with the lowercase names? Woods: We just like it. Forman: Why is that such a thing for everybody? I'm not a very good typer, so I can't reach the caps key that well. What does simjang mean? W: Simjang is the Korean word for heart, and Worcester is the heart of the commonwealth. We are proud of everything that has taken place here in Worcester, and we are very proud to be a part of it. Why go with Korean cuisine? F: It is an amazing cuisine really underrepresented in this state. Something near and dear to my heart is in New York there is a really great K town. Sean lived in Koreatown in Los Angeles for a time, and there is just really great food there. It breeds a culture about fun. When will simjang open? F: Anytime you do any of these proj- ects, there is more red tape than you can handle, so we lean on Bert for a lot of that stuff. It is always a lot slower than some- one with our attention spans can handle. Bert, do you like dealing with red tape? LaValley: My main business is outside of this, mostly in construction, so I'm pretty used to it. Very quickly, deadhorse became the hot- test restaurant in the city. F: We love how much the city loves it, but the best part for me, though, is what we do here every day. I love to cook. Sean loves to shake cocktails. I love to watch Sean shaking cocktails. W: I love to watch Jared cook. F: It's great not having to answer to anyone when you want to mess around with a type of cuisine Worcester may not be familiar with. We just are going to do what we love, and hopefully the people in this community will see that passion. Has all the buzz translated into sales? L: Absolutely. We timed it perfectly as a lot of momentum was building in Worcester. As people get more excited about what is happening, that benefits us. Spreading the deadhorse love around Worcester F: The distribution process – for food and liquor – we hit at the right time, too. Worcester is really close to Boston, but even 10 years ago, it was a world away. Now, everything we can get in New York or Boston, we can get in Worcester. How did you get distributors to come to Worcester? W: We cultivated relation- ships in Boston after Jared and I worked there. Now, we have friends who are doing things out here, and we are able to make those introductions. F: We have friends who are farmers on the border of New York, who just drive right past us to get to Boston, so they just make a stop for us. Because they are doing that, they are trying to get other restaurants in this area to buy from them, which increases how much great local food Worcester is using. Why stay in Worcester with simjang? F: Like Sean says, "Worcester, it's the place!" We believe in this city. W: In this area, you make a difference. There's great satisfaction. We've been in the restaurant industry for years, but Worcester feels right. It feels like home. There are the financial benefits, too. F: If you are in New York or Boston, you have to focus on just getting your rent paid every month. It sucks. I want to put all of our resources in thinking about the menu. It makes for a better restaurants. W: Worcester is a place where you can have an idea and execute it. In Boston, if you have an idea for a restaurant and crunch the numbers, it costs $4 million. F: And you will be in a shoebox. How much would it cost to put a place like deadhorse in Boston? L: 10x is a pretty close number. Will you eventually open a third Worcester location? L: Definitely. Employees: 25 (with 15 more to come) Ages: 40 (Woods), 34 (Forman), 33 (LaValley) Birthplaces: Queens; Brooklyn; Portland, Maine Residences: Worcester, Worcester, Worcester Education: School of hard knocks, Johnson & Wales University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute This interview was conducted and edited for length and clarity by Brad Kane, WBJ editor. VIDEO: Forman & Woods play catch outside deadhorse hill. Go to WBJournal.com W S H O P TA L K Q & A P H O T O / B R A D K A N E 26 Worcester Business Journal | October 16, 2017 | wbjournal.com Sean Woods, Jared Forman, Bert LaValley Co-owners, deadhorse hill & simjang, Worcester

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