Restaurateur / hotelier
Kihyun Lee
- Discipline
- Restaurateur / hotelier
i. Biography
The company’s Korean concepts arrived in New York City through Take 31 and later Her Name Is Han, each opening marking a clear step in Hand Hospitality’s expansion under Kihyun Lee’s direction. Taken together, those two restaurants show how the group built its identity through successive concepts, each carrying a distinct expression of Korean dining while widening the company’s footprint.
The Climb
Training at Fashion Institute of Technology gave Kihyun Lee a base in detail and composition, the sort of discipline that carries through hospitality work as much as it does through design. That education sits behind the company-building approach that defines Hand Hospitality: measured, precise, and built through opening by opening. The move from school to ownership was direct, and the result is a portfolio shaped by steady intent rather than scale for its own sake.
Today
Take 31 and Her Name Is Han remain the clearest markers of Hand Hospitality’s point of view in New York City. The two concepts anchor the group’s public identity and show how Kihyun Lee’s work is read: as a sequence of restaurants that reinforce one another, rather than isolated projects. Their value lies in that pairing, which gives the company a coherent shape as it continues to grow.
Career - Founder — Hand Hospitality Education: Fashion Institute of Technology
Signature
Take 31 and Her Name Is Han are the signature concepts associated with Kihyun Lee. They define how Hand Hospitality is known in New York City and represent the company’s Korean dining profile most directly. In that sense, the signature is not a single restaurant but the pair of openings that established the group’s voice.
FAQ What is Kihyun Lee's current role? As of 2026, Kihyun Lee is Founder. Where did Kihyun Lee train or study? Kihyun Lee trained at Fashion Institute of Technology.
