Link: Kim’s Convenience mines Korean grocery store for laughs

From Tony Wong of the Toronto Star:

Link: Kim’s Convenience mines Korean grocery store for laughs
Growing up in Toronto, Ins Choi worked at Jug City and Minute Mart.

What he didn’t know was that the frenetic world of the convenience store would eventually become his Walden Pond, an unlikely place of literary inspiration.

“It was my first high school job. I didn’t know it was research back then,” laughs Choi, the creator of Kim’s Convenience. Continue reading. 

The real store that became Kim’s Convenience
When Yong and Kyung Chung started a variety store business on Queen St. E. near Sherbourne St., they didn’t bother to take the old sign down.

So, almost 30 years later, Mimi Variety remained a thriving business, even though there was no one named Mimi.

“Oh, it wasn’t a big thing,” says Kyung, 53.

So it wasn’t a big deal either when a CBC location manager chose their store for the exterior shots, or that the store would be renamed Kim’s Convenience. Though it still took a little convincing. Continue reading.