Ji Hye Kim's Two Kerrytown Restaurants Serve Different Jobs
Miss Kim remains the full-service anchor; Little Kim turns Kim's vegetarian work into counter service and a small market.
Ji Hye Kim now runs two restaurants within a few steps of each other in Kerrytown. Miss Kim remains the full-service Korean restaurant at 415 North Fifth Avenue. Little Kim is the all-vegetarian, counter-service restaurant and small market at 403 North Fifth Avenue.
The distinction matters more than the proximity. These are not duplicate concepts at different price points. Miss Kim is built around Korean food, table service, reservations, and a menu that changes with Michigan seasons. Little Kim draws from vegetarian traditions across Korea, Japan, China, and India, then puts that work into bowls, kimbap, sandwiches, and prepared foods meant for a quicker meal.
A chef with a longer record
Kim was a 2025 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: Great Lakes. A 2026 James Beard Foundation profile describes her as a five-time semifinalist and notes that Miss Kim is approaching its tenth anniversary.
Miss Kim's current site still presents Korean cooking as the center of the business. It also advertises a monthly chef's dinner club built around Korean traditions and Michigan seasons. Little Kim gives Kim a second format rather than a second copy of the same restaurant.
Why Little Kim is different
Eater Detroit's opening report traces Little Kim to several strands in Kim's work: meals at Korean Buddhist temples, the popularity of vegetable dishes at Miss Kim, sold-out vegetarian dinners, and her own decision to eat less meat.
The restaurant opened July 31, 2025. Eater reported 24 seats, counter ordering, and an entirely vegetarian menu with tofu, tempeh, beans, chickpeas, and eggs in place of imitation meat. The opening menu included build-your-own bowls, kimbap, a panko-fried tofu sandwich, and a small market carrying seasonal kimchi, salads, marinades, and sauces.
Little Kim's current site describes the menu as seasonal and notes that many dishes can be made vegan. It also lists the restaurant as part of the Zingerman's Community of Businesses, alongside Miss Kim.
Two formats, one block
The useful frame is not expansion for its own sake. Kim divided two kinds of restaurant work between neighboring rooms. Miss Kim can remain a full-service Korean restaurant, while Little Kim handles vegetarian counter service, takeout, and prepared foods without forcing those jobs into the same dining room.
That is a sharper strategy than simply opening another Miss Kim. One restaurant asks for a reservation. The other is designed for lunch, a bowl to go, or a container of kimchi for home. Kerrytown now has both.
Miss Kim is at 415 N Fifth Ave. Little Kim is at 403 N Fifth Ave. Check each restaurant's official site for current menus and hours.