Hot Pot, BBQ For Farwell Avenue
Back Street, a Chinese-Korean restaurant, would open next door to Good City Brewing.
Site of future Back Street, 2116 N. Farwell Ave. Photo taken July 31, 2023 by Sophie Bolich.
A new restaurant serving hot pot and barbeque is poised to open on Farwell Avenue, bringing another option for global cuisine to one of the city’s most diverse dining corridors.
Back Street is the latest venture for industry veteran Ying Li, who previously operated A.A. Wok Zone until its pandemic-era closure. Li and co-owner Nanbin Li plan to open the restaurant at 2116 N. Farwell Ave., inside the former Fushimi restaurant space.
The 4,800-square-foot dining area, which previously housed an expansive, cherry blossom-lined buffet, will soon be filled with hot pot tables — specially designed with a heating well in the center to keep broths piping hot as diners submerge slices of raw meat, vegetables and noodles.
Guests at Back Street will be able to choose from a handful of broth bases including herbal soup, spicy soup, mushroom soup, dark chicken ginseng soup and winter melon clam soup. A proposed menu lists dozens of meat, vegetable and seafood accompaniments such as chicken, shrimp and corn, as well as less-common offerings like beef tendon balls, duck blood and lotus root. Other add-ins include several varieties of noodles, rice cakes and dumplings.
The owners, in a license application, also noted plans to serve alcohol, and said they expect the business to generate 90% of revenue from food sales, with just 10% from alcohol sales.
Ahead of the restaurant’s opening, the dining room will undergo a $250,000 remodel, according to construction documents. Additional alterations will include moving walls to expand the space and adding a fresh coat of paint. The existing kitchen will remain untouched.
Following its opening, the restaurant’s proposed hours are Sunday through Thursday from noon to 10 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from noon to 10:30 p.m.
A representative of Back Street did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
A second restaurant, Sonora’s, is preparing to open in the same building. It would serve authentic dishes inspired by the cuisines of Mexico City and Oaxaca. The building also houses Good City Brewing‘s Lower East Side taproom and brewery and Waterford Wine & Spirits.
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