The blog TO (blogTO), which mainly delivers life-related information to young people in Toronto, focused on PAT Korean Food, which celebrated its 50th anniversary.
BlogTO evaluated PAT Korean Food, saying, “As a family-run business that started in the 1970s, it has contributed to popularizing Korean food such as kimchi and Korean culture in Toronto.”
PAT Korean Food was first opened in 1972 near Bloor Christie Park (721 Palmerston Ave) by four brothers.
In the early days, the eldest son Chang-bok Lee, his wife Lee Young-hee and the second son Soon-bok Lee led the business.
After that, Lee Chang-bok established Pan Asia Foods, Canada’s first Korean food wholesaler, and his brother Lee Min-bok and his wife took over the store in 1978 and moved to the main store located in Bloor in 2004.
A Pan Asia official said, “When we first started a food store, we could only import red pepper powder, soy sauce, and sesame oil, which are the basic necessities of Korean cuisine.
BlogTO evaluated that PAT Korean Food not only popularized kimchi in Toronto, but also served as a kind of incubator for Korean farms and entrepreneurs.
Before PAT Korean Food existed, there was no demand for enoki mushrooms and king oyster mushrooms, so the market itself was not formed.
Currently, there are a total of four PAT Korean food stores, including the Bloor Main Store, Thornhill Store, Spring Garden Store, and Mississauga Store.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of PAT Korean Food, PAT Korea Foods is holding an event to provide gift vouchers to customers who purchase products of $25 or more at each branch by the 10th.
The total gift size is $120,000. 32 loyalty cards worth $1,000 and 25 Cuckoo pressure cookers await their owners. 50 winners will receive 15 pounds of rice, one bag per month for one year.
A Pan Asia official said, “The founder brothers, who were currently managing each store, passed on most of their work to the next generation ahead of their retirement.