It began as a bit of banter between Mazen Khoury and James Kim, the Windsor Terrace brothers-in-law who opened the popular Syrian-Korean spot Syko together in 2022, and then the more grocery-store-ish Dukan Syko—a block away—in 2024.
"Seriously, I swear to God, it was a joke," Khoury told Hell Gate. "Me and James were sitting at Dukan, I baked a potato for him and said it reminded me of how back home [in Tartus, Syria] we used to sit next to our wood-fired heater, wrap a potato in foil, throw it in, and top it with whatever we had in the kitchen."
When Kim suggested they do a potato place together, Khoury just laughed. "Come on," he said. "I don't want another headache on my shoulders. We have two stores already!"
Then, literally the next day, Kim told Khoury he'd found an open space around the corner from Syko that seemed perfect for potatoes.
"Within a week the landlord said we could have it. And a month later we're open."
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