OUR STORY.

We hope that when you sit at our table, the food makes you feel like home, even if it’s a home you’ve never been to. We hope that you look at local produce with renewed gratitude and possibility and that you have a greater understanding of Korean cuisine and beverage. We hope that you want to come back over and over because our community is yours.

While Cam tended bar in Chicago in 2015, Pete walked in and sat across the bar, neither remotely expecting that five years later they would marry. When they purchased a restaurant with living space above in Livingston Manor in 2023, opening a restaurant together was inevitable.

Restaurants have played a pivotal role in both of our lives - Cam followed their mom through restaurants as a kid and later worked in and ran bars; Pete found a sense of belonging in them while on the road as a young consultant. Marrying the familiar dishes of Pete’s Korean American childhood with our shared love of hospitality marks this next chapter. We’ve saved you a seat.

Our values

  1. Our food is emphatically Korean.

  2. All people deserve access to beautiful, local food, and excellent service.

  3. Plant-based and celiac eaters should have robust and interesting options.

  4. We buy local whenever possible, Korean whenever essential, and commercial only when we have to.

  5. Front- and back-of-house workers all deserve dignity of labor and income.

That means…

  1. Our dishes and meal structure seek to bring traditional Korean cuisine into our local community and context. You will always find guk, bap, and banchan on our menu to accompany your main. Our team will help you build a meal you’ll enjoy if you’re unfamiliar!

  2. You will always find affordably priced items on our food and drink menus. We come from working class backgrounds - having affordable offerings, even if they’re less profitable, means we get to feed our people. It’s not charity, it’s community.

  3. There will always be vegan and celiac-safe options in every section of the menu and they will change seasonally. Our fryers are always gluten free and one is always vegan. There is no wheat flour in our kitchen. Plant-based and gluten free eaters are not an afterthought here.

  4. Our menu showcases local produce purchased directly from farmers whenever we are able. When no comparable product is available locally or there is a compelling reason to do so, we buy imported Korean products. When we have to, we buy commercial.

  5. All workers are paid an hourly wage above the standard minimum wage and tips are split among all staff, both FOH and BOH. We collaborate to create a workplace with clear expectations, clear paths of progression, and healthy work culture. We solicit 360 feedback in service of those goals.

cam shaw

Cam Shaw (they/she) grew up in rural Michigan and learned about food through the lens of their grandfather’s garden and their mother’s kitchen. Their restaurant career began in Ann Arbor while studying engineering, continuing in Chicago and then New York City. Cam’s career has primarily focused on high end and fine dining with stints across the spectrum, from bar manager of a casual LES basement bar to Assistant General Manager of a 1 star Michelin vegetarian restaurant in Union Square.

Cam’s love of food and hospitality runs deep. A third generation restaurant worker, some of Cam’s earliest memories of their mom, Susan (now a beloved part of the Threshold team), are following her through restaurants. They fell in love with fresh, farm-grown food while eating open-faced tomato sandwiches with a slice of Velveeta in their grandfather’s garden after pulling weeds together.

Cam is an operations and ethical business practices specialist and brings those skills to Threshold, in addition to being the creative force behind the kitchen and bar. They love super savory cocktails, spreadsheets, and building high functioning, healthy teams. They’re thrilled to get to share all of those things with you at Threshold (well, maybe not the spreadsheets).

PETE CHOO

Pete (he/him) is from the Cleveland suburbs, where his parents eventually settled down after moving to the States in the late 60s. His earliest memories of food are shaped by his mother's home cooking - a mix of traditional Korean dishes and her quick command of American classics. Mul-naengmyun in the summers, pancakes and omelettes on Sundays, tteokguk for New Year's, block parties and Boy Scout breakfasts.

Pete's parents also instilled an appreciation for the deep connection between food, family, and community. Knowing what it was like living abroad themselves, Thanksgivings were often spent hosting other families and international students. Today you can find them in the outskirts of Houston, ministering to refugees and continuing their own life of service.

As a member of the Threshold team, Pete's job is mainly behind the scenes. His work in consulting means he’s interested in Threshold's operations and finances, but he is most excited about being a flex player, learning what needs to get done from Cam and helping where and when it's needed.

You'll likely find him behind the bar or bussing tables, but in either case excited to welcome our new guests and neighbors to the space the team has built together.