Jib-Bob Korean Restaurant to relocate to old GreenTree Co-op location
Guardian sculptures sit in Jib-Bob prior to its opening in April 2022. Owner, Maya Denslow, spends every day until dark working on the sculptures to bring luck and happiness for those that visit. Family guardians can be seen on the left and traditional sky guardians on the bottom right.
Mount Pleasant’s Jib-Bob Korean Restaurant has moved from N. Mission St. to 214 N. Franklin St. where the GreenTree Co-op Market once resided.
Maya Denslow, Jib-Bob Korean Restaurant's owner, had hoped to have a special grand opening on Feb. 1, the Lunar New Year. However, renovations have yet to officially commence due to the lack of available construction workers.
Although a specific date hasn’t been set, Denslow predicts that Jib-Bob should be ready for business by the end of April or May.
This space will offer a more intimate environment to share “real art, real conversation and a real thing with people,” by introducing South Korean culture with locals, Denslow said.
For Denslow, the new location will also achieve her dream of having an outdoor pyung sang dining experience.
“Korean people...like eating outside (on what) we call pyung sang,” Denslow said. “Pyung sang means like a big low table. We are sitting on it...and we take a little nap, we play games and we chitchat… You just take your shoes off, you sit on it and just eat the meal. That’s what I want to make.”
Denslow is working on getting the location prepared for what’s to come. She is using her art education by carving and painting sculptures to serve as the guardians of the restaurant.
In South Korea, guardians are located before the entrance of temples, mountains or villages, Denslow said.
“Guardians in that village enter before the village you enter,” Denslow said. “Why? Because those guardians protect your village, protect your people, protect all the evils, sickness and everything.”
Denslow created numerous sculptures to resemble a family: a father guardian, a mother guardian, and a brother and sister guardian. These guardians are meant for good luck and happiness, while also inviting a unique atmosphere, Denslow said.
Jib-Bob’s foundation comes from it’s meaning, “mother’s homemade cooking." Not only is Denslow the owner of Jib-Bob, but she dedicates herself as the only chef in the entire restaurant.
She slices and peels vegetables by hand because she believes it increases the quality of the restaurant's food.
“If I don’t want to eat it (then) I don't want to offer my customer it," Denslow said.
To keep up to date with renovation progress, check out Jib-Bob’s Facebook.
