Vons Chicken's Closing Leaves Korean Fried Chicken Hard to Find in Idaho
A beloved restaurant's closing has left a chicken dish hard to find in Idaho.
One of the last restaurants selling Korean fried chicken has permanently closed, according to The Idaho Statesman.
Vons Chicken was located in Meridian, ID. The closure is "permanent," The Statesman reported.
With the closure, Vons Chicken only has one other Idaho restaurant that focuses on Korean fried chicken; that is Han's Chiamek, the newspaper reported.
Vons Chicken's website says that the company has 70 locations remaining throughout the world. The remaining U.S. restaurants are in California, Hawaii, and one in Washington State, the website says. The Idaho location is no longer listed on the company's website.
"Since our first store in April 2007 in South Korea, we have been operating franchises Worldwide and operating 70 internationally in locations such as the United States, Guam, China, Vietnam, Guatemala, and Cambodia," the website says.
The Idaho Statesman reported that the Meridian location "was opened in 2022 by Paul and Vivian Kim. Born in Korea, they moved to Boise from California several years ago."
According to the Hans Chiamek website, "Despite how overwhelming it may sound, Chimaek simply means chicken and beer. The word 'Chimaek' came from Chi (Chicken) and Maek (Maekju, which means beer in Korean). While crispy fried chicken and ice cold beer is simply just everyone’s favorite, Korean people took it one step further and made it a culture."
According to the Statesman, there are a "handful of remaining choices in Boise" that have Korean fried chicken on their menus, although it's not a focus like it was for Vons.
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