Coming Soon: Create Your Own Pot In Toms River !
There is simply nothing more satisfying than creating your own pot from scratch, and soon that’s just what you’ll be able to do in Toms River!
Wait, you didn’t think I meant… Oh, now I’m blushing. No, no my funky friend, this is not the hydroponic brick and mortar Shark Tank dream you’ve had in your head. This pot is KPOT! According to the company website, thekpot.com , KPOT is a unique, hands-on all-you-can-eat dining experience that merges traditional Asian hot pot with Korean BBQ flavors – but modernized with a full bar and a nightlife-like atmosphere.
The soon to open restaurant is located of of Route 37 in Toms River, in the Shop Rite Parking lot. It replaces the well liked, but Covid victim, Social 37, next to Buffalo Wild Wings in the strip mall next door to the supermarket. This National chain with roughly 60 locations, has their logoed banner hanging above the front door while work continues to be done inside. There is no definitive word on a hard opening date, but one would expect them to be ready serve customers in time for the Holiday rush.
Andy Chase WRAT-FM
What exactly is KPOT? What do they mean by “hands on” and “all you can eat” ? Is it a buffet? Do you make your own food? Do you have to clean your own pots?
Our answer is simple. You have seen and done this before if you ever lived in or near Bricktown over the past 30 years. PJ Lee’s Mongolian Barbecue in Brick was an immensely popular independent version similar to what KPOT is doing on a national level. It was located in the Brick Shoprite Plaza next to Manhattan Bagel close to Chambers Bridge Road. Oh yeah that place! It’ closed in 2019, but I have fond memories for sure.
Here’s how it works.
At PJ Lee’s you would go in, pay first I think, grab a plate then get in line and eventually pick your fresh veggies, protein, sauce, ect, to make your meal complete. After that, you then would give it to a chef, who would throw your dish on this big rotating hot round stone looking contraption and then, voila! Your hot cooked dish was being served back to you on your plate. Amazing. My wife hates Asian cuisine, but even she loved this, and why not? Who doesn’t like to get “hands on” in somebody else’s kitchen!
KPOT works similarly, but even better it has a full service bar!
I don’t know about you but since the Mongolian BBQ closed, I’ve been wondering if a similar establishment would open, and now soon it will! So let’s all start making our own Pot in 2023 in Toms River! KPOT, that is.
