If you travel along the Havana corridor, you’ve undoubtedly seen a Seoul Hospitality business or two.
J.W. Lee has made a point of establishing a cadre of signature establishments along Havana Street, which some have dubbed a top-ten cultural fare destination across the country.
From Coffee Story to Thanksool Pocha, a Korean Nightlife spot with premium cocktails, and all the in-between, J.W. has brought Korean cuisine to the forefront in Aurora.
He began with acquiring Seoul Korean BBQ and Sushi 10 years ago and built his local empire of 10 establishments within the city, now owning 20 restaurants across the country.
Tofu Story, his newest restaurant, makes organic tofu in house the old fashioned way, producing the soybean product several times a day. There is one other Tofu Story owned and operated by Seoul Hospitality, located in Queens, New York.
The menu offers much more than just tofu dishes, including a bevy of hot pot options and other traditional Korean fare, most of which can incorporate its staple ingredient.
J.W., an immigrant from Korea, has lived in the US for 25 years and in Aurora for 11 years. He noticed that there were few makers of traditional organic tofu so he researched where he could get homegrown organic soybeans, and he ships them from Minnesota.
Traditional Hotpot from Tofu Story. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Soy beans funnel into a processor making the soy mil which will be come tofu, Dec. 11 at Tofu Story. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Erik Ayala, who makes the tofu at Tofu Story feeds soybeans into a processor to make the soy milk which creates the tofu. Ayala makes tofu several times a day for the restaurant. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado
He also bought a tofu machine from Korea to make the product in the Tofu Lab inside of Tofu Story.
“We go through about 300 pounds of soybeans a day,” J.W. said.
Photo essay by Philip B. Poston, Sentinel Photo Editor