Ekiben co-owner and chef Steve Chu reflects on his journey launching Baltimore’s favorite Asian fusion hotspot with his college friends, and recounts its challenging early days and how the business now flourishes with the support of the Baltimore community.
The News-Letter: I am a huge fan of Ekiben’s Asian creative and mouth-watering fusion dishes! Could you share the story of how Ekiben got started?
Steve Chu: Man, it’s a long story. My partners and I met in college through Habitat for Humanity: a nonprofit organization where we helped build homes for people in need. We were all officers, and that’s when I realized how well we worked together.
One day, almost on a whim, I asked them, “Hey, should we open a restaurant one day?” and they said, “YES!” At the time, I was the only one with experience in the restaurant industry, but I knew that success in this business boils down to one thing: hard work. Everything else can be learned and I was convinced my partners shared this essential quality.
We didn’t jump into it right away. After college, we went our separate ways, but I stayed in the restaurant business, working in New York, D.C. and Baltimore. Once I finished training, I reached out to them again, and we decided to start small with a food truck.
The problem? A food truck cost about $8,000, and none of us had that kind of money — I was earning just $8 an hour. So, instead of a food truck, we bought a hot dog cart which was much cheaper.
We pushed that cart all over [Baltimore] selling sandwiches. Eventually, the health department told us we needed a permanent spot, so we set up at a farmers’ market. The first year was tough; almost no one bought our food. But we didn’t give up. By the second year, things started to take off. By year three, we had finally opened our first restaurant in Fells Point!
COURTESY OF EKIBEN
Ekiben made its debut at the Fells Point Farmers Market in 2014!
N-L: Can you tell me more about your teamwork? What's something that has made the three of you work so well together?
SC: It all came down to trust, hard work and shared values. Our friendships were built on those principles. We were all willing to put in the effort which was key. Nicola — one of our partners — is no longer with the company because the work-to-reward ratio wasn’t right for him. But while it lasted, it was a great journey together.
N-L: Ekiben is famous for its steamed buns filled with a range of creative fillings! Could you talk about what the menu was like when you started with the hot dog cart and how it evolved into today’s menu?
SC: Great question. The menu items we had during the hot dog cart days were actually quite similar to what you see at Ekiben today: soft, milky-white buns filled with the meat of your choice.
There’s a cultural story behind this. I’m from Taiwan, and I’ve been eating mantou — a unique steamed bread — since I was a kid. I’ve always felt it’s underutilized in America. Around the time we started, I noticed other creative uses of bread like naan being used to make burritos, and I thought, Why not bao buns? That’s when I drew inspiration from mantou to create our own special bao buns for Ekiben.
The bao buns you eat at Ekiben today are house-made using our secret recipe which sets them apart from anything you’d find at a retailer. While many Asian fusion cuisines now use their own versions of bao buns —I’ve traveled across the country to see what others are doing with them — I can confidently say that our product is superior!
COURTESY OF EKIBEN
The bun used by Ekiben draws inspiration from Chu’s childhood favorite, Mantou.
N-L: You mentioned working many jobs across the country in the restaurant industry before starting Ekiben. What made you come back to Baltimore and start your business here?
SC: My family is from Baltimore. I was working my dream job in New York, but I came back because my family needed help with the family business and to take care of my grandparents.
N-L: You’ve talked about how the community helped your business take off, starting with the hot dog cart. Can you elaborate on how Baltimore has supported your business growth?
SC: Baltimore is such a supportive city. If you’re doing something unique and doing it right, the city will back you. Early on, it was the tourists who worked near us by the Inner Harbor water taxis. They stopped by, drawn to our Asian steamed bun sandwiches, which weren’t that common at the time.
Local events also played a huge role in helping us grow. We catered for events like Artscape and the Emporiyum, where attendees spread the word about our food, giving us valuable word-of-mouth promotion. As we started gaining more recognition, local news outlets and magazines like you guys stepped in to share our story. Their articles made it easier for people to find us. For example, when someone Googles “what to eat in Baltimore,” they might see those stories, which helps us reach new customers.
Sometimes, the media paints Baltimore in a negative light, but for us, Baltimore has been a major reason for our success. I’ve found that local journalism often champions small businesses and portrays them positively. If something goes wrong, it’s on us, not the city.
COURTESY OF EKIBEN
Chu credits the lovely Baltimore community for their support throughout Ekiben’s journey to success.
N-L: What is the most popular product at Ekiben?
SC: Definitely the Neighborhood Bird. Honestly, I never thought we’d be known as a fried chicken spot. Our original goal was to focus on Taiwanese food, but the fried chicken quickly became a customer favorite.
What’s fascinating about running a fusion restaurant is navigating the cultural clash between traditional flavors and local tastes. We’ve learned to adapt and integrate those elements into our offerings, which has been key to developing popular products like the Neighborhood Bird!
N-L: How has the Baltimore community influenced how you run your business?
SC: Successful businesses listen to feedback, but they also know who they are. For example, we once added a salad to the menu, but we only sold two a day, so we removed it. On the other hand, when people ask us to turn down the music, we don’t. We want to maintain our high-energy vibe.
It’s about balancing customer feedback with staying true to your identity. Data helps a lot: we are very data-driven and let it guide many of our decisions.
N-L: What’s one of the hardest moments the business has faced?
SC: Early on, we did an event during a 106 degrees Fahrenheit heatwave with a hot dog cart that had flames shooting out. We barely slept for days and had to rely on each other to push through. It was like Navy SEAL training, but we got through it!
N-L: What’s something about Ekiben that people might not notice at first but will feel over time?
SC: I want people to feel that Ekiben is a part of Baltimore: awesome, welcoming and deeply connected to the city.
