DALLAS — If you walk into Boba China Restaurant in Dallas, Texas, you’ll be quickly transported to a new world filled with authentic Chinese food and imported fixtures.
Garrett Kim, the general manager of the 44-year-old business, says high-quality food and service have always been important to them.
“Everything’s all scratch, all handmade,” said Kim.
The original owner, Beenfu Lee, established this Dallas gem in 1977, garnering attention through newspapers and the local community in Lake Highlands.
Ownership has since changed, and Kim had the daunting task of taking charge of the establishment just months before COVID-19 turned the world upside down.
“Unfortunately, four months later, our unexpected visitor by the name of COVID-19 came,” Kim said.
When restaurants were forced to close their doors to in-person dining, Kim, like many business owners, heavily relied on takeout as a source of income.
Kim says they were making no profit.
“Was I worried? Yes, I was. I mean, I’m sure everyone was," he said.
But when Texas allowed dine-in again, Kim says it wasn’t easy getting his staff back on board.
On top of trying to hire servers and kitchen staff for his 11-person team, Kim also wanted to make sure he was hiring reliable food service workers. So, Kim had to increase incentives.
"Salary base-wise, we had to go a little bit base pay, a little bit more than usual," he said.
The need to up pay and wages is something many businesses are having to consider to attract people back into the workforce.
As of September 2021, the Texas Workforce Commission says the unemployment rate sits at 4.9%, a promising drop, when you compare it to last September’s 8% unemployment rate.
What was meant to be a summer 2021 grand re-opening turned into Kim finally opening his doors at the start of October.
“The community has been there for us,” Kim noted.
The business is back open for in-person dining Tuesdays through Sundays. He hopes this will help renew his business and bring more foot traffic into this Dallas gem.