Specialty Korean corn dog shop to open in Turlock. What makes the trendy treat different?
A group of childhood friends from Turlock is sticking it to the frequent Central Valley lament that we get all the latest food trends too late.
Led by Turlock native and Xhale Ultra Lounge owner Romeo Esho, the new restaurant will specialize in Korean corn dogs — a trendy take on the traditional fried fairgrounds favorite with a variety of toppings and fillings. The treat on a stick has become a popular street food across Asia, and came to U.S. shores shortly before the pandemic thanks to social media posts featuring the extravagant snack.
Esho, who has owned the downtown Turlock hookah lounge since 2011, said he and a handful of longtime friends who now work in real estate always have been foodies and enjoyed travel together. They fell in love with the concept of Korean corn dogs near the start of the pandemic and then wanted to bring the concept to their hometown.
For the past two and a half years, they’ve been developing the recipes and menu for Corn’d, their new Korean corn dog shop. Last week, they announced their eatery’s pending arrival on Geer Road in the same complex as the Community Hospice Thrift Store and Turlock Comics.
The 1,800-square-foot space, formerly a paleteria specializing in Mexican frozen sweet treats and juices, is being transformed into Stanislaus County’s first dedicated Korean corn dog shop. Plans for the site will be submitted to the city shortly for approval, and if things go smoothly, Esho and his business partners hope to open by late spring or early summer.
Once open, expect an array of the photogenic foods with a variety of toppings and options. Esho said most of the products will be made from scratch, including the batter. They plan to make their own plant-based vegan sausage and gluten-free varieties. What they don’t make themselves, they will source locally, including their meat sausages.
“Everyone complains that bigger cities have everything and we don’t get things,” Esho said. “So (we’ve) done our best to get the best recipes down. I’m not a fan of the corporate world, I’ve always been a mom-and-pop-business person, so we’re doing this ourselves.”
Esho, a Turlock and Pitman high alum who also opened the Turlock creperie Cafe Rome before selling it in 2019, said they want to offer fresh food with no frozen ingredients. Korean corn dogs often come with extras fried into the batter — like french fry bits, crispy ramen noodles, Takis chip dust and more — or stuffed with mozzarella cheese and other fillings.
Helping set Korean corn dogs apart from their American counterparts are the variety and some sugar and sweetness added to the batter. Also, not all Korean corn dogs are filled with hot dogs.
“It’s not a traditional corn dog, for sure, you basically are getting a mutant corn dog,” Esho said. “It’s an easy snack on the go and they’re big and fill you up. And (because we’re making vegan and gluten-free options), it can be a healthier on-the-go snack.”
They plan to sell them in specialized boxes of four, three or one corn dog. As an independent restaurant, Esho and his team are creating the design and look of their restaurant themselves and want it to be inviting and Instagram-friendly.
Besides offering Korean corn dogs, Esho hopes to partner with a local lemonade and beverages seller to pair with the savory snacks. And then there’s their name, picked to highlight their corn dogs. While it might cause a little confusion at first to some, Esho said he hopes the Valley quickly will pick up on the trend.
“Instead of having a long name, we focused on getting ‘corn’ out there, because corn plays a big role,” he said. “A lot of people thought we’re doing corn on the cob. Who knows, maybe. But we’re just excited about bringing something new like this to our town.”
For more information on Corn’d, visit www.instagram.com/corndkitchen.
