Softies: Hit Burger Pop-up Opens First Restaurant Near Usc

Softies, among Southern The golden state’s most popular hit burger pop-ups and a former Smorgasburg vendor, opened its first-ever dining establishment in USC Town simply north of the main College of Southern The golden state school on Sunday, July 6. With a grand opening arranged for mid-August, Softies will ultimately increase its hours with breakfast service to accompany the start of the fall term.

Softies’ Grand Opening Near USC

“Hamburgers are common, everyone knows them and has a referral, so they came to be a trendy canvas. We do not desire to be believed of as tacky or fusion, so we believe the end product need to always really feel rather comparable to any type of various other burger,” states Kim, whose favored hamburgers growing up in Southern California were In-N-Out Hamburger and the Habit, which he took pleasure in as a college trainee in Santa Barbara.

If we have three dining establishments and they’re truly great and have a great society, I would instead have that than try to make an added buck,” states Kim. We want to offer individuals and make it feel like an extension of dinner events we would do at home,” says Kim.

Every three to four weeks, the duo announced a brand-new pop-up, and hundreds of hungry knockout hamburger followers revealed up for Softies’ griddled burgers covered with smudged onions, white American cheese, and pickles in between Martin’s plush potato buns. Kim and Hong stood out up to big success at Smorgasburg, selling over 450 hamburgers in 2023, and they signed up with the Arts District Sunday food festival soon after as a regular vendor; they ran there up until late 2024. The brand started from the success of its hit burgers, it’s already started providing more in the way of fried hen sandwiches, deep-fried fish sandwiches, Korean pork rib sandwiches motivated by the McRib, Oriental barbecue samgyupssal (pork stubborn belly) sandwiches, and much more. Its opening menu at USC Town consists of the Aji, rubbed in Peruvian aji verde (cilantro aioli) with pickled jalapeños and crispy cheese, while the crunchy mushroom burger comes with a tangled crown of deep-fried enoki mushrooms. We don’t want to be assumed of as ugly or blend, so we assume the end item must constantly really feel pretty comparable to any kind of other hamburger,” states Kim, whose preferred hamburgers growing up in Southern California were In-N-Out Hamburger and the Behavior, which he took pleasure in as a college student in Santa Barbara.

From Pop-Up to Permanent Restaurant

Kim and Hong stood out up to significant success at Smorgasburg, offering over 450 hamburgers in 2023, and they signed up with the Arts District Sunday food festival shortly after as a normal vendor; they operated there up until late 2024. Kim and Hong’s eventual companion, James Choi (that has Dulce inside USC Village), strolled by the vacant previous Wahlburgers and Stout Burgers area, asking on behalf of Softies. In early 2025, Kim and Hong broke ground to convert the room right into a kind of minimal diner, with counter seats, booths, and 2 patio locations.

Softies’ Menu and Unique Offerings

Though the brand began with the success of its smash burgers, it’s currently started providing even more in the means of deep-fried hen sandwiches, fried fish sandwiches, Korean pork rib sandwiches motivated by the McRib, Oriental bbq samgyupssal (pork stubborn belly) sandwiches, and much more. Its opening menu at USC Village consists of the Aji, rubbed in Peruvian aji verde (cilantro aioli) with pickled jalapeños and crunchy cheese, while the crispy mushroom hamburger features a tangled crown of fried enoki mushrooms. Together with French fries, a New york city City bodega-style cut cheese sandwich, and a Caesar salad with optional fried poultry cutlet were menu attachments for the soft opening phase. A lime pie is the sole dessert offering but hinted at various other desserts like a banoffee pie. Eventually, in the mornings, Softies will certainly offer breakfast burritos, breakfast sandwiches, and drip coffee.

With around $5,000 in cooking equipment, both made a decision to cook burgers since it was less complicated to do than tacos (plus, Roy Choi had caught the market on Korean-made tacos more than a decade prior). They established at Thanks Coffee in Anaheim, preparing to prepare a couple of loads burgers, yet ended up marketing over 300 on the initial day. Every three to four weeks, the duo announced a new pop-up, and hundreds of hungry hit burger fans turned up for Softies’ griddled burgers covered with blackened onions, white American cheese, and pickles between Martin’s luxurious potato buns. They resemble the extremely skilled Oklahoma-style burgers located at the similarity Goldburger and Alvin Cailan’s Regional Cooking areas in Los Angeles.

Origins: The Experiment That Became Softies

Founded by Josh Kim and Sam Hong in 2022, the pop-up began as a complete experiment after Kim and Hong expanded bored by their company work. Kim was previously in customer relations at OpenTable, and Hong worked at a technology company after leaving a monitoring position at Copa Vida Coffee; they functioned briefly together at Cafe Dulce in Little Tokyo yet otherwise had actually never ever cooked properly.

Pertaining to the name, Kim and Hong find comfort in the dissonance of the term, recognizing that they really did not have any kind of specialist cooking experience before Softies. “We’re softies and mama’s children, but we work damn difficult. We uncommitted to be excellent, but we care a great deal about being really good,” claims Kim. “It’s likewise an exploration of our cultural complication. Are we Oriental? American? Oriental American? It’s every one of that consistent tension that gets spew out right into a dish.”