How an NSO Percussionist Built the Food Chain SeoulSpice

Eric Shin is the National Symphony Orchestra’s principal percussionist, but when he isn’t tapping out rhythms at the Kennedy Center, he’s beating the drum for a different passion: Korean food. Shin founded the local fast-casual chain SeoulSpice eight years ago, and it’s grown to seven locations. Now the company has gotten an investment from the Invus Group, which previously helped Cava grow into a major brand. The money will allow SeoulSpice to expand to other cities.

Shin, who trained at Juilliard, arrived in Washington in 2012 when the NSO hired him. So how did he end up with this unusual side gig as a restaurateur? During his first years with the symphony, Shin loved to introduce friends to Korean restaurants around the area, but he noticed that the language barrier and lengthy menus could be intimidating. Meanwhile, he saw how local fast-­casual chains like District Taco and &Pizza were finding success. He wondered how a Korean concept in a similar format might go over.

Shin wasn’t new to the food world: His parents, who emigrated from Seoul to Atlanta in the 1970s, owned a Korean eatery, and his grandfather was also in the restaurant business in Seoul. So Shin used family recipes as a starting point, then created a modern menu with offerings like Korritos—Korean burritos. The first outpost opened in NoMa in 2016. It was a hit, and Shin soon found himself running a real company, which he doesn’t think is as surprising as it sounds. “Musicians have this type of discipline and diligence because we’re used to putting in hundreds of hours practicing our instruments and years of ruthless self-criticism,” says Shin, whose wife, Malorie Blake Shin, is one of the NSO’s violinists. “So it’s not surprising that musicians also excel at other passions and hobbies.”

Shin isn’t sure exactly where he’ll take SeoulSpice next, though there will be more locations in new cities, along with additional ones locally. Several new outposts are in the works for Chicago—his first outside the DC area—and another is planned for Falls Church. “Our goal is to become a national brand, so we’ll see where the journey takes us,” he says. In the meantime, you should still expect to catch him onstage with the NSO. He’s especially looking forward to playing Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 next season, in which he gets to perform the last movement’s famous hammer part. Before the performance, the orchestra might chow down on some Korritos, because, Shin says, they often get catering from SeoulSpice.

If balancing a high-powered classical-­music career with the demands of a startup founder and CEO seems kind of complicated, well, Shin disagrees. “I’m a simple dude,” he says with a laugh. “I just want to share my love for food and music.”

This article appears in the September 2024 issue of Washingtonian.

Jessica Ruf

Assistant Editor