Welcome to Partner Provisions, where we introduce you to the incredible people and stories behind the restaurants, food trucks and caterers helping Zerocater feed the workforce – breakfast, lunch, dinner and every meal in between.
- Name: Jin Ahn
- Restaurant: Noreetuh
- Cuisine: Hawaiian
- City: New York City
- Website: noreetuh.com
- Instagram Handle: @noreetuh
- Twitter Handle: @noreetuh
In one sentence tell us who Noreetuh is.
noreetuh is a Hawaiian restaurant serving finer Hawaiian food in a casual spot in East Village part of New York City.
Tell us about Noreetuh!
My partners and I wanted to start something on our own. We all worked for other famous chefs in fine dining restaurants. We wanted to see more of our friends and families. The idea for Hawaiian came from a connection that we have with our Chef/Partner Chung Chow, who hails from Hawaii – it was a way to get back to his roots.
What was the very first menu item?
Big-eye Tuna Poke, which focuses on the freshness of the ingredient without being done in a flamboyant style. It is still is one of our best sellers.
Tell us about one of your signature dishes!
Bone Marrow Bread Pudding. It was created as a result of a special wine dinner we do from time to time. The response to the dish was so strong, we made it a staple on our own menu. It is a bread pudding with bone marrow fat blended into it and topped with sea urchin, mushroom marmalade, parsnip puree, and truffle. Decadence in every bite!
What is one thing that not many know about Noreetuh?
We’re a single-unit restaurant formed by former fine-dining veterans. We focus on quality and consistency. You may not know us since we do not have the marketing budget of bigger/chain restaurants, nor do we have the buying power to offer 10pc nuggets at $1 but we take care of our people well and ensure you have a quality experience each and every night!
What’s your favorite thing about feeding companies?
I think there’s so much happiness in eating. “We live to eat” is something I often live by (of course life is more complicated than that, but that’s really the basic fundamentals, right?). If this important part of your life is very good – you know at least that part of your life is going to make you very happy.
What do you like most about partnering with Zerocater?
It’s hard to pinpoint just one thing that I like but I can tell you a few – the people at Zerocater are always helpful and communicate well when I run into an issue or have a question. It’s something I always look for in a good partnership. Additionally, Zerocater goes to work and makes us feel like we’re on the same team – and we really are. I’m glad everyone is working hard to achieve the same goal!
Tell us about a time where Noreetuh brought people together or helped to foster community.
We bring people together for a smaller, more intimate time at the restaurant. We also have a few events outside the restaurant which involve special dinners, fundraisers or donations. Our aim is to bring together a small group of people every day.
What is your biggest challenge as a restaurateur or chef?
The realities of running a business – a restaurant business is a very difficult one any way you look at it. It still is a numbers game after all. Meeting payroll, paying rent, paying vendors….it sounds easy but we do anything and everything in our power to make this happen. We still take it day to day, week to week, month to month!
What piece of advice would you offer to someone starting out in the food industry?
Don’t look to do this if you’re trying to make a fortune. Do it because you love it. At least if the money doesn’t come through, you’ll still be happy doing what you love.
Where do you see Noreetuh in the future?
In five years we have stabilized our dinner business and have grown our catering (via Zerocater) business by 25%. In the future, we will look to secure a better location to open up a more casual restaurant focusing on simpler menu items and hopefully one day scale that restaurant.
