A peek inside the overhauled space (Image: Yeobo Cafe and Bar)

Yeobo Cafe and Bar is overcoming a later than expected start with intention and good vibes on E Madison.

The new venture in the old Two Doors Down burger space got started with its “soft opening” phase last weekend as chef and first-time owner Mars Minas overcame a slew of challenges in opening the overhauled restaurant including a gas leak and some final rounds with the health department.

With a successful first weekend including selling out on its cold case musubi and generating much needed revenue, Yeobo is ready to continue its ramp-up to full power. This weekend is hoped to bring the introduction of Yeobo’s breakfast sandwiches to the menu. Minas says brunch should follow in a few weeks.

As far as its nighttime hours, the plan is for Yeobo to turn on the bar end of things with cocktails and bites plus late night musubi by the end of March.

In the meantime, Friday through Monday visitors can enjoy Yeobo’s cold case snacks, musubi (“until they sell out”) and all of the cafe’s espresso and tea drinks.

CHS reported here on the plans for Yeobo to create “Korean-American comfort food with love and care,” serving breakfast, lunch, and night service plus weekend brunch menus that celebrate “classic American comfort foods, but always with a third culture twist” and “a heavy Korean-American influence.” The days at Yeobo will eventually shift from build your breakfast sandwiches and coffee to nighttime bar bites like Scallion Fritters and Honey Gochujang Wings along with a full cocktail program plus non-alcoholic mixed drinks.

As Yeobo and Minas welcome their first customers during the soft opening, the first-time restaurateur is aware of the context of the times in which Yeobo arrives in the community.

“Opening and owning a business is political,” she wrote in an update on the soft opening. “Choosing how you operate, who you partner with, who you hire, and how you treat those you hire, are all political things.”

“The first step to making change is first believing that change is possible, and I know that hope for a better tomorrow is being drained out of so many of us; so now more than ever, we need to lean on each other,” Minas said. “Get to know your neighbors. Support small businesses and artists. Get to know the organizations around you. Learn your rights. Be loud and proud for those who can’t be. They want us to disappear, and we won’t let that happen.”

Yeobo Cafe and Bar is softly open at 2332 E Madison with planned hours of 7 AM to 2 PM Friday, 8 AM to 3 PM on Saturday and Sunday — but check @yeoboseattle for updates and additional openings.

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