Nicholas Cho
Born1973 (age 50–51)
Seoul, South Korea
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Barista
  • Internet personality
Websiteyourkoreandad.com

Nicholas Cho,[1] also known by his online alias Your Korean Dad, (born 1973) is an American barista, businessman, and internet personality.

Coffee career

In 2002, Cho opened his first coffee shop, Murky Coffee, in Washington, D.C.[2][3] It is one of the earliest cafes to be associated with the third wave of coffee[4] and had an expected 2005 sales of over US$1,000,000.[3] They purchased their beans from Counter Culture Coffee.[3] A second location opened in Arlington County, Virginia, in 2004.[5][6] Murky Coffee closed in May 2009.[2][6] Cho pleaded guilty to tax-fraud in February 2010 for failing to pay sales tax and failing to file unincorporated franchise taxes for Murky Coffee.[5][7] In his plea, he agreed to five-year probation, community service, and a repayment plan[8]

Cho is a barista competition judge. He organized the mid-Atlantic region's first barista competition in Washington in February 2006[3] and chaired the United States Barista Championship.[6]

Cho cofounded Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters with Trish Rothgeb in Washington, D.C.[2][9] In September 2014, they opened a location on Union Street in Cow Hollow, San Francisco.[4] They expanded into Gourmet Ghetto, Berkeley, California in August 2019 at the old Philz Coffee location.[10][11] Cho, Rothgeb, and chef Alice Waters have expressed their opposition to the use of the word "ghetto" in describing the neighborhood.[12][13] The North Shattuck Association voted to remove the name from signs and marketing material in September 2019.[11]

Cho hosted the Portafilter coffee podcast.[9][3]

Your Korean Dad

After quitting Facebook, Cho's two teenage daughters encouraged him to post on TikTok. He joined the platform in 2019 and posted his first video in April 2020.[14][15] The "Your Korean Dad" TikTok account reached 1 million followers in November 2020 and 2 million followers in January 2021.[16][17] His videos features him pretending to be your dad.[16] A typical video begins with Cho introducing himself with, "I'm your Korean dad." And then it follows Cho as he engages in mundane tasks, such as shopping at Walgreens or making coffee.[9]

Cho portrayed the character in an Alaska Airlines ad in 2022.[18]

Cho said that his Korean dad persona is different from his father.[15]

Personal life

Cho was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1973.[19] He immigrated to the United States as a toddler.[20]

He has two daughters.[14] Cho was married to his business partner and fellow barista Trish Rothgeb.[9] He announced his divorce from Rothgeb in February 2022.[21]

References

  1. ↑ Duggan, Tara (2016-09-14). "What happens when coffee pros taste Soylent's Coffiest?". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  2. 1 2 3 Strand, Oliver (2010-04-22). "Top Baristas on Display in New York". Diner’s Journal Blog. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Weissman, Michaele (2005-11-16). "For the Coffee Palate Too Refined for a Certain Large Chain". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  4. 1 2 Kauffman, Jonathan (2014-11-19). "Lesson from Wrecking Ball's new coffee spot? Experience counts". SFGATE. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  5. 1 2 Carman, Tim (July 22, 2014). "Former Murky Coffee owner Nick Cho still owes $130,000 in back taxes". Washington Post.
  6. 1 2 3 Scofield, Alex (August 3, 2009). "Pressing Questions with Nick Cho". ineedcoffee.com.
  7. ↑ Mathis, Sommer (October 27, 2009). "Nick Cho Formally Charged With Tax Fraud". DCist. Archived from the original on 2021-10-18. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  8. ↑ Carman, Tim (April 5, 2011). "Nick Cho has moved to Calif. Tax burdens to follow". Washington Post.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Makalintal, Bettina (2021-10-29). "How Nick Cho Became TikTok's Favorite Korean Dad". Bon Appétit. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  10. ↑ Bitker, Janelle (2019-08-16). "Chez Panisse alumni open casual lunch counter in Berkeley". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  11. 1 2 Wells, Madeline (2019-09-26). "North Berkeley neighborhood votes to get rid of 'Gourmet Ghetto' nickname". SFGATE. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  12. ↑ Han, Sarah (2019-09-26). "After ruckus, business association votes to drop 'Gourmet Ghetto' moniker; others say name should stay". Berkeleyside. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  13. ↑ Moench, Mallory; Phillips, Justin (2019-09-18). "Alice Waters says Gourmet Ghetto name should go: 'I have never liked it'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  14. 1 2 Whiting, Sam (2020-12-25). "'The emergency of my life': Seven Bay Area residents on how 2020 has changed them". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  15. 1 2 "The Union Fight At Amazon, Plus 'Your Korean Dad' : It's Been a Minute". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  16. 1 2 Duffett, Becky (2021-01-28). "This SF Coffee Shop Owner Has Reached TikTok Stardom as 'Your Korean Dad'". Eater SF. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  17. ↑ "Your Korean Dad - Unlikely Tik Tok star, Nick Cho". RNZ. 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  18. ↑ Nelson, Samantha (February 9, 2022). "Alaska Airlines' Sunny 'Care Coalition' Ads Star Tan France". Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  19. ↑ "TikTok Star Nick Cho: Your Korean Dad". Commonwealth Club. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  20. ↑ Kauffman, Jonathan (2018-07-26). "SF coffee shop turns down Salesforce contract in immigration protest". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  21. ↑ @NickCho (February 2, 2022). "This has also meant ending my marriage as well. I care about Trish deeply and we're going to continue to support each other. We'll keep running and growing @Wrecking_Ball together too. Change is hard but with love and support, we'll grow from it all" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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