Essential Austin Korean Restaurant Seoulju Is Closing on North Lamar

An essential Austin Korean restaurant Seoulju is closing at the end of the year. Its last day of service at 9515 North Lamar Boulevard in the North Lamar neighborhood will be on Sunday, December 31.

The reason the restaurant has to close is because there are plans to get rid of the entire physical shopping plaza for a mixed-use development. “The neighborhood we’ve called home is undergoing significant changes, driven by gentrification,” owner John Lee writes in the Instagram announcement post. “Despite our best efforts, we were unable to come to an agreement that would allow us to continue serving you in this location. The decision to close was not easy, and it’s disheartening to see the place we’ve cherished being transformed in a way that doesn’t align with our vision.”

Seoulju serves up an array of Korean dishes, such as the Korean fried chicken, hot pots, rice cakes, bulgogi, and kimchi pancakes. Drinks included house-made soju in a variety of flavors like passionfruit and mango,

The restaurant originally opened as College Roadhouse in 2015 by Lee’s mother and other partners, with food, drinks, and karaoke. He had started managing the restaurant in 2018, and then took over in 2019 when the last partner left the business. His mother stayed on as the chef. That’s when he changed the name to Seoulju with more of an emphasis on Korean food and drinks. He had expanded with a takeout/delivery location in a ghost kitchen hub in 2020, but closed it after four months.

The restaurant will host a farewell New Year’s Eve party on its last day of service, with details to come later. The post also notes that they’re looking for new jobs for their staff too.