Business

Gettin’ cozy at Rosie’s Diner

Frank and Nora of Rosie’s Diner on Bayview work so hard that my fantasy is for some regulars to sit the couple down one day and cook them lunch.

Apart from official holidays, they man and wo-man the grill for the breakfast-to-late-lunch crowd every day of the week. In fact, back in the ice-storm, Frank opened up Rosie’s on Christmas Day to cook for customers whose homes were still in the deep-freeze. 

You’d assume Frank and Nora would be completely exhausted by close at 4 pm. But what does Nora do twice a week? She grabs a few girlfriends and walks up through north Leaside — all the way home at Sheppard Avenue and Leslie St. Frank sometimes used to jog the same route.

Just about all denizens of Bayview know Rosie’s, the low-cost breakfast and lunch diner on the east side of the strip, nestled between Unique Jewellery and ScotiaBank.

It was 11 years ago Frank and Nora took over the restaurant from Frank’s counsin Lucy, who had bought it from its previous Indian owner. The duo made Rosie’s busier. The front and back patios would fill up in the warmer months, along with the dark green benches inside.

A Japanese-Canadian patron suggested “Frank” and “Nora” as monikers Leasiders might get a better handle on. But Frank is really Man Ho Kim, and Nora is Hie Yim Kim.The couple hails from Seong-Nam City, just south of Seoul, South Korea’s capital.

As a member of the local school board, he got involved with a school cafeteria there, shopping and hiring for it. The experience was good preparation for becoming a restaurateur, as was Nora’s stint as a cook at the school.

Despite a son and daughter nearing high-school age, Frank somehow talked his wife into the adventure of a lifetime: emigrating to Canada and taking over a restaurant. 

The toughest obstacle? Not surprisingly: learning English. English speakers can imagine how difficult moving to Korea and learning Korean would be.

It was smoother sailing for the kids, who had picked up some English skills at school in Korea. Their son Minkwan helped out at Rosie’s for years and daughter Noh Eul Kim still does some weekends. Minkwan graduated from the University of Waterloo’s chemical engineering department a few years ago while Noh Eul finished her B.A. from the University of Toronto.

Frank and Nora have yet to fly back to South Korea for a visit and have no plans to do so. Bayview and Leaside (and the house north of the 401) feel much more like home now.