Steve Park opened Fresh Selects Deli in 2003 after immigrating to Canada from Korea. Located at the corner of 8 Avenue and 7 Street in downtown Calgary, his restaurant serves homestyle Korean hot dishes and Western sandwiches to a clientele mostly made up of office workers on their lunch breaks. Steve says things were tough at first. “It’s not easy to merge into a new society,” he says. But he’s been hard at work adapting to his new surroundings. “We live in Canada,” he says. “So I can’t just stick to Korean-style food.”
Steve is incredibly hardworking. He says it takes between four and six months before a new menu item makes it from the testing phase to his menu. “We work hard to develop a new menu and deli specials,” he says. And the diligence pays off. Steve notes that during some days, “20 consecutive people will order the same thing.” That’s when you know you’re on to something good.
