IN THE 405
Okie Dokie’s Hero Jennifer Bui’s personal quest to promote and save local restaurants B Y K AY T E S P I L L M A N P H O T O B Y C H A R L I E N E U E N S C H WA N D E R
oving your momma can make you do things you never thought possible. Like, for example, starting a pro bono, viral movement dedicated to raising awareness about struggling restaurants that then turns into a passion and a new business. Nowadays, Jennifer Bui is best known for being the heart and soul of Okie Dokie Foodie—a social media campaign Bui started last August, focused on showcasing the food and stories of restaurant owners struggling during the pandemic.
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But as a teenager, Bui was best known as Pyong’s daughter. “My mom used to own a Korean restaurant when I was a teenager,” she said. “I just witnessed how hard my mom worked to provide for her kids. I saw all that. My mom opened her restaurant by herself. It was amazing to me. “My mom is a first-generation immigrant,” Bui continued. “We worked very hard to prep and buy the necessary goods to run the business. It was a lot of work, and it was a lot of money just to get it running.”
