Hanbun, the Korean-inspired, chef-driven suburban food court stall, will close Feb. 2 due to mall maintenance issues.
Over 100 dinner reservations booked out through May have been canceled, said Jennifer Tran, co-owner with chef and fiance Dave Park. The critically acclaimed restaurant will continue its casual walk-up lunch service but stopped taking reservations for its dinner-only tasting menu in August.
“We hope everyone understands that this is not something we wanted,” said Tran. “But it just became impossible to maintain standards for our guests.”
Tran and Park opened Hanbun in the small International Mall in west suburban Westmont in December 2015.
When I visited the food court this past summer during a heat wave, the air conditioning was out. Open front doors did little to cool the space. Hanbun canceled several dinner tastings due to the heat at the time.
When and where will they reopen? “We really don’t know yet,” said Tran. “We’re open to anywhere from Chicago to where we are now, not any (further) west.”
“We want to stay quaint and small,” she added. “And we’ll definitely do pop-ups.”
Tran added that she and Park want to do something special for their finale and offer food that will keep until they open again.
“We’re thinking bibimbap sauce,” she said, “and maybe huge batches of kimchi, but we just don’t know yet.”
Hanbun; 665 Pasquinelli Drive, Westmont; 630-948-3383; www.hanbunrestaurant.com
lchu@chicagotribune.comTwitter @louisachu
