Six seats, four sittings per week. Korean micro-restaurant CHAE in Melbourne’s outer suburb of Cockatoo is tiny, to say the least, but husband and wife team Yoora Yoon and Jung Eun Chae are extremely focused on creating a journey for their loyal customers, and a product that is exact and purposeful. A concept that isn’t one-size-fits-all comes with a lot of complexity, but can also be immensely successful. Here’s how this team has made it work.
CHAE has been operating for several years now. How does it feel to have built such a unique dining concept?
It’s an amazing feeling, and I’m deeply grateful that CHAE’s unique concept—offering a home-based dining experience with traditional, homemade Korean condiments—has been so warmly embraced. Being able to share these time-honoured practices in an intimate setting has been both humbling and rewarding. I feel incredibly privileged to set an example that honours tradition, even when it means taking the long, less conventional path. It is not only viable in a commercial sense but also profoundly resonates with its audience. It’s a testament to the growing appreciation for authenticity and craftsmanship in dining experiences, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of this journey.
Being located an hour’s drive from Melbourne means your guests come on a journey to join you. Can you tell me a bit more about how this plays into the overall experience you’ve crafted?
I truly appreciate the effort our guests make, travelling long distances—sometimes even from interstate—to dine at CHAE. It’s incredibly humbling and adds a sense of excitement and anticipation to their journey, which can also feel like added pressure on our end to deliver an exceptional experience. At the same time, I love that it provides an opportunity for our guests to step away from their busy daily lives, enjoy a peaceful road trip into the mountains, and embrace a change of scenery.
Your restaurant model is quite distinctive — limited to six guests per sitting, four sittings per week. Can you walk us through the thinking behind this approach and how it’s evolved?
When I first started this concept restaurant from a small two-bedroom apartment in Brunswick, I experimented with various guest numbers before settling on six. This intimate group size allows me to give each guest personalized attention and deliver a truly tailored experience.”
Jung Eun Chae → Co-Owner, CHAE
Given the unique nature of our business and the intricacies of fermentation, a significant amount of time is dedicated to preparation and maintaining the venue. With just the two of us running everything, we made the conscious decision to open exclusively on weekends, reserving weekdays for the behind-the-scenes work that ensures the quality and authenticity of every meal we serve.
You’ve created an experience that prioritises connection, even reserving Sunday dinners for VIP guests who have dined 3+ times. How does this focus on community impact your business?
With our ballot system for reservations, we deeply understand the effort it takes to dine with us, let alone three times. Offering a Sunday dinner to guests who’ve visited us more than three times is our heartfelt way of expressing gratitude for their unwavering support and interest. Guests who join us more than three times become VIPs, earning the opportunity to book a private Sunday dinner once a year for up to six guests. If a VIP books for fewer than six people, we fill any remaining seats by prioritising lottery participants who’ve waited the longest—sometimes even for years—ensuring fairness and rewarding patience. Building close relationships with our regular customers allows us to foster meaningful connections and create a sense of community. It’s an incredible privilege to witness their lives evolve over time, sharing in their milestones, celebrations, and journeys.
Let’s talk about your operational strategies. Can you walk us through a typical week at CHAE?
Monday is our day off, but from Tuesday to Thursday, Yoora spends his mornings in the office answering email enquiries, handling paperwork, and creating social media content. After lunch, he focuses on house projects, currently working on our garden with the aim of opening it up for guests to explore. This will give them a chance to see our homegrown produce and condiments before service begins. Meanwhile, I dedicate most of my day to the kitchen, replenishing condiments, cleaning, researching, and experimenting with new menu ideas. On Fridays, we begin prepping for the weekend service. Our seafood order arrives, Yoora goes grocery shopping, and I start ingredient prep. Together, we clean the house to get everything ready for the weekend. Saturdays and Sundays are service days. In the morning, Yoora sweeps the driveway to ensure it’s clear of fallen leaves, while I continue prepping and start cooking the ingredients prepared the day before. Guests begin arriving at 1pm for lunch service, which lasts about two hours. During this time, Yoora takes Haru, our black Labrador, for a walk. Once the guests leave around 3pm, we have a quick bite, clean the kitchen and dining area, and prepare for the dinner service at 6pm.
For those considering starting a home-based restaurant, what are the key regulatory considerations they should be aware of?
It is important to conduct thorough regulatory research and consult with your local council to ensure your home-based food business complies with all relevant requirements before starting operations. There are often rules you may not be aware of. For example, beyond the regulatory standards for operating an unconventional venue, if you plan to serve food that involves non-traditional preparation methods—such as fermentation or raw meat—you will need a separate food safety program. This program must be independently audited annually in addition to the standard council inspections.
Your menu changes constantly. How does this impact your sourcing and relationships with suppliers?
Our menu is built around seasonal produce, which makes sourcing easier from our suppliers. Since we only require small quantities due to the nature of our setup, our suppliers need to understand this unique aspect from the very beginning of our relationship. The constantly changing menu doesn’t impact our ongoing relationships, as our suppliers are accustomed to our needs and flexibility.
How do you maintain consistency and quality in your offerings, especially with a constantly changing menu?
We’re in a favourable position to maintain consistency and quality because we have a precise understanding of the number of guests we serve. Any leftovers beyond their intended use are never reused—everything is prepared fresh just before serving. This approach makes it easier for us to consistently deliver the highest-quality food.
Can you tell us about some of the unique elements you’ve developed to set CHAE apart, like your homemade condiments?
Beyond the well-known aspects of our restaurant, such as the home-based venue and six-seat setup, one of the most distinctive elements we’ve developed is our range of homemade traditional condiments. These are crafted entirely from scratch using time-honoured techniques and recipes. The process requires constant labour and significant space to store the condiments in traditional clay jars for fermentation and aging, often for years. This practice is virtually unheard of in conventional Australian restaurants, as it demands substantial manpower and resources without yielding immediate returns, making it commercially unviable. Even in Korea, such a setup is exceptionally rare.
What are the main benefits you’ve found in running such a small-scale operation? Are there any drawbacks?
By running a small-scale operation, the food cost is significantly lower as we don’t take rent or wage into account. This in return allows guests to enjoy exceptional food and service without the premium pricing typically associated with such offerings.
How has maintaining this intimate model, despite growth opportunities, benefited your business? What lessons could other restaurateurs learn from this approach?
Our intimate business model may not generate significant financial returns, but it also carries a lower level of risk if things don’t go as planned. It’s a case of small investment, small return. However, we see it as an ideal platform to tap into a niche market and build strong, personal connections with our audience. Our focus is on attracting individuals who share our values and appreciation for what we do, rather than appealing to the masses. In today’s business environment, advanced internet and AI technologies have transformed how people discover and engage with brands. Algorithms now segment audiences into highly specific interest groups, tailoring content and recommendations to individual preferences. This shift makes it more effective for businesses like ours to focus on creating a meaningful connection with a niche audience that genuinely appreciates our values and offerings, rather than casting a wide net for a broader, less engaged crowd.
By prioritizing depth over breadth, we can foster stronger relationships and ensure our efforts resonate with those who truly value what we do.”
Jung Eun Chae → Co-Owner, CHAE
As you look to the future and potential expansion, how do you plan to balance growth with maintaining your core concept?
Our business concept is deeply rooted in a clear, strong identity that people genuinely appreciate, which makes it challenging to scale up in the traditional sense. We have no plans to expand our dining experience beyond its current scale. However, after five years of operation, we’ve identified a niche market for traditionally crafted Korean condiments—a segment we believe holds significant potential for growth in the retail space.
We’ve been slowly working on trialling this as a product offering, having a selection of condiments available for guests to purchase after they dine with us, as well as bringing products for sale to all the kitchen pop-ups and markets we’ve partnered with this year.
Having the Square Terminal to bring along with us has been amazing. Being able to take payments directly to our account no matter whether we’re at home, popping up in restaurants across the country or holding fort at our local markets has made bringing this retail offering dream to life, so much easier.
CHAE is a proud Square seller. Explore more expert hospitality knowledge via our In Service series.
