Q&A with Michael Cho

417 Magazine: What brought you to Springfield?
Michael Cho: I had an opportunity to open a business called the Argentina Steakhouse with my cousins from Argentina, that was back in the spring of 2002, so that is what brought me here initially. I left before the restaurant actually closed, but I was there nearly 10 years, until 2011. I left there and went to work for Bob Noble—I didn’t work for his ad agency, but I worked for a small production company that he had and I was project managing for him for a couple years.

417: And then you worked at Millwood Golf and Racquet Club and Hickory Hills Country Club, right?
M.C.: That’s right! Millwood first for about two and a half years, and then I was recruited to come over here to Hickory as the hospitality director back in 2015. I left [Hickory] about three years ago—in March of 2022—and at that point, I had opened up a little fast-casual concept called Craft Sushi. We opened that in 2018. I left Hickory to do that more full-time, and the reason more than anything was to spend more time with my kids at home before they left for college… I had an opportunity to come back to Hickory as the general manager, so I pursued that, and that’s where I am currently.

417: Craft Sushi is different from your previous roles. What inspired you to venture, and how has that transition been?
M.C.: My world was always fine dining and more full-service restaurants and hospitality, but really the trend globally and here in the States was the fast-casual concept. The idea is people all want to eat well. I think our collective food knowledge and food IQ have gone up dramatically in the last generation. So when I first got into the business in 2022, that was right at the rise of Food Network and personalities like Anthony Bourdain were coming into the mainstream. So, really, it’s all about people knowing more about food so they want to eat better and look for opportunities to eat better, but everybody is busier than ever. The idea with Craft Sushi was to provide our community with food largely grown in the community when in season, and to offer our neighbors an honest product at an honest price.

417: What does Springfield mean to you as someone who has been here for a long time? How has the local dining scene evolved over the years?
M.C.: I came out here from New York City, and even as many restaurants and different options as there are in a city that size, I was always shocked from the beginning of how many dining options there were in a town of this size. That’s only continues to grow. Springfield is home. I call myself a proud Springfieldian. It’s an unbelievably kind community.

417: If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring restaurateurs, what would it be?
M.C.: Believe in the product you are offering, know your clientele and try to do things the right way—providing an honest product, at an honest price and providing an honest service.