Our culinary columnist questions recent alterations in the Kei Concepts family of restaurants.

I’ve followed Kei (pronounced “Key”) Concepts restaurant group since its first brick-and-mortar, Sup Noodle Bar in Buena Park – my favorite of the concepts. Over the last decade (but especially in the last five years), the group has experienced rapid growth. It’s this constant state of change, transformation and downright hustle that has kept Kei Concepts afloat.
To the typical diner it may not appear as though Kei Concepts has struggled until only recently, when Gem Dining in Fountain Valley paused operations. Irvine’s Kin Izakaya would follow suit a few months later. Was the restaurant group experiencing financial difficulties, internal issues or something else? The best way to understand the ebb and flow of Kei Concepts is to go over the past 10 years with CEO/Executive Chef Viet Nguyen for perspective.
2014 - 2019
Kei Concepts has technically been around since 2014, when Sup (“Soup”) Noodle Bar appeared off Beach Boulevard in Buena Park. The group that originated with partners Neo Du, Ivy Ha and Nguyen would begin to experience slow yet steady growth with this modernized pho concept, followed up with The Vox Kitchen in 2017, as well as a short-lease Sup storefront in Cerritos.
What most customers don’t know is that Kei Concepts experienced a single failed concept early on. Until only recently, the restaurant group was transparent on its corporate website about referencing this eatery named Pango Asian Taqueria. I attended a community presentation in November 2022 hosted by Kei that made a point of referencing Pango. As a Mexican-fusion spot, I suspect that the style of food in an Asian neighborhood may have been ahead of its time and the restaurant wasn't attracting its target demographic – it only lasted a few months before the group called it quits.
The corner space Pango occupied is now where Fountain Valley’s The Vox Kitchen is located. The majority of Vox’s seating was on the patio until Vox announced expanded indoor seating (having taken over the neighboring storefront) near the end of 2023. Fortunately, the Chinese-Peruvian menu of Vox appeals to the Little Saigon community.
Gem Dining launched in Fountain Valley in the summer of 2019, adding progressive Southeast Asian dinner in an upscale environment to the Kei Concepts resume. Gem was also the first Kei concept to offer alcohol.
In October 2019, one more brand would open; this time the group brought the bubble tea bar brand The Alley overseas from Taiwan to Orange County and opened its first U.S. location in Fountain Valley as a franchise.

2020 - 2023
Once the pandemic arrived in early 2020, Kei Concepts surprisingly went against the flow and continued working on more concepts while franchising another brand. The team was determined to keep its teams gainfully employed just as other businesses were shutting down.
The July 2020 opening of Nep Café’s Vietnamese brunch under the same roof as Gem proved to be profitable despite being forced to only serve customers outside.
Once its lease ended, Cerritos Sup closed shortly before Irvine opened its Sup doors (for to-go orders only) in August 2020.
The following year Rol Hand Roll Bar (Huntington Beach) opened its doors in August 2021 and Kin Craft Ramen (now Kin Izakaya) in September 2021, proving that diners were still craving something new, even during a time of uncertainty.
In addition to the Nep/Rol/Kin concepts which focus on Asian flavors, Kei Concepts even went so far as to have a Dave’s Hot Chicken franchise as part of its portfolio for a period of time beginning December 2020.
June 2022 would see the launch of Ini Ristorante, an Italian-Japanese fusion destination that would prove more successful than its previous tenants. Diners wanted more full-service experiences and less take out, so Kei opted to relinquish the two franchises and refocus efforts on its own brands.
A 10,000-square-foot EMC Seafood in Irvine would close during the pandemic, allowing Kei Concepts to take over the space and continue growth in the same plaza as Sup Noodle Bar and Baekjeong Korean Barbecue (which is not a Kei restaurant.) This time, Nep Cafe would be open in the daytime while Kin Izakaya took over at dinner with a soft opening of both brands in August 2023.