Korean Cafe Ganadara is opening in St. Louis Hills in March

Cafe Ganadara, the second restaurant from Chicken Seven co-owner Erica Park and her husband Sean Lee, is slated to open at 6413 Hampton Ave. in St. Louis Hills on March 6. 

The cafe will serve traditional Korean breakfast, lunch and dessert. “Ganadara” is the Korean equivalent to “ABCD” in English. “I wanted to serve the most basic, popular desserts in Korea,” Park explained. All the food options will be available to eat in the restaurant or to grab-and-go, a priority for Park who, as a working mom, wants more options for people on the go. 

For breakfast, they’ll offer Korean street toast. Park described it as a fluffy egg sandwich filled with a mixture of shaved cabbage, ham, carrots and green onions topped with various selections, including shrimp, bacon, hash browns and special sauces. For both breakfast and dessert, they’ll sell croffles, a hybrid of a croissant and a waffle. “It’s buttery layers with the crispiness of the waffle outside,” she said.  

At lunchtime, guests can experience a different daily special Monday to Friday. They’re planning to serve japchae (stir-fried glass noodles and veggies), gimbap (Korean sushi), chi-bap (boneless chicken over rice with cabbage, a special at Chicken Seven), and dakgalbi (spicy barbecue chicken over rice). Park said they’ll also have vegetarian options available for the toast and the gimbap.

Desserts will include croffles, Korean shaved ice and Dalgona coffee. The croffles can be ordered with both savory and sweet toppings such as cheese and mushrooms, housemade cream, Oreos or various fruits. The Korean shaved ice will be available in strawberry, mango, matcha-red bean, chocolate brownie, and injeolmi (traditional Korean-style with soybean powder, rice cake cubes and red bean). Dalgona coffee is a sweet, whipped coffee drink, which Cafe Ganadara makes with coffee from La Colombe. Other beverages include citrus drinks, one made from yuzu fruit and another grapefruit.

The cafe space is small but inviting with about 450 square feet. The interior is mostly black and white with sceneries of Seoul hanging on the wall. “I wanted people to feel like they are in Seoul,” Park said. There will be eight small tables inside with about 20 seats, and a patio will seat a few more.

Cafe Ganadara will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Sunday. They’ll serve breakfast and lunch items from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday and otherwise will have dessert and drinks available.