Written by Giovanna Zavell, DSMG Contributor
We bet a majority of you are familiar with this next business, and have probably stood in line a time or two to get your hands on a sandwich before they sell out. What started as a pandemic project is now a staple for the Des Moines weekend food scene.
Becoming Egg Kings
For this trio, the restaurant business is in their blood. Brothers Andrew and Arthur Sayasane and partner, Curt Wang, grew up in Des Moines with restaurant owning parents. Curt’s family owned one of the first Chinese restaurants in Des Moines that offered a buffet, called New China, in the 90s. Andrew and Arthur’s parents own Winn’s Pizza & Steakhouse, which has locations in Indianola and Norwalk.
“We all grew up in the restaurant business and learned a lot from these experiences,” Andrew says. “Growing up in our parents’ restaurants has inspired us to start our own ventures. It’s our passion to share great food with people!”
Some might call it crazy to start a business at the beginning of a pandemic. But for this trio, it was a no brainer. As business slowed in the restaurant world, it seemed there was no better time than now to use the extra time for their next project. But food wasn’t their only goal in this next adventure.
“Our main goal was to get more people out and about during the pandemic and create traffic to places that saw a decrease in business too,” Arthur says. “We figured if we can help by creating a fun and unique EGGsperience, then people would feel good about going back out again.”
On August 12, 2020, the brothers and Curt debuted their first pop up event, with a clever name.
“Curt’s last name means ‘King’ in Korean,” Andrew says. “My brother and I have lineage to the Royal Family in Laos. So we figured if we couldn’t be kings in our own countries, then we would be kings in America.”
Building the Egg Empire
The Sayasane brothers’ family is originally from Laos, while Wang’s family is from China and Korea. Using their cultural backgrounds as inspiration for both the food, and their name, the trio created their niche Egg King style.
“We wanted to bring different flavors, style, and culture from Korea and the Korean street food scene to Iowa,” Curt says. “A lot of people don’t get to EGGsperience it here.” Since their first pop up, Egg King has grown in popularity. They have teamed up with a number of local businesses and restaurants, taking over their kitchen for a few hours on Saturday mornings.
Lines have been spotted outside Kitchen Spaces, The AC Hotels & The Republic on Grand, 1908 Draught House, Surety Hotel & Mulberry Street Tavern, and currently, The Hall. Of course, we can’t forget about the Farmer’s Market as well as other local festivals. Wherever Egg King goes, they draw a crowd, following their goal of helping other businesses during the pandemic.
“Being able to bring all different backgrounds, ethnicities and cultures of people together for the love and passion of food is very rewarding for us,” Arthur says. “We get to work with our friends and family and have fun while being face to face with our customers.”
“It’s not really work for us, it’s an opportunity for us to do something we all love and get to share things we love and are passionate about with our community,” Curt says.
It’s pretty obvious Andrew, Arthur and Curt love what they do and work to make each pop up a memorable experience for all.
“We love getting the opportunity to get to meet new people and seeing how EGGcited they are about our food,” Andrew says. “Putting a smile on someone’s face and hearing how much they, their friends and family enjoyed our food is what we love to do. It’s like entering as strangers and leaving as friends.”
As they say, #neverskipeggday
Your Next EGGsperience
Heading to the next Egg King pop up? Be sure to check out their Instagram to see what specials are being offered (and LOTS of egg puns). If you see the Cloud King or Fire Chicken on the specials, know those will sell out fast. On the regular menu, the following crowd favorites battle for the top spot each week.
- EGGogi: Scrambled eggs, American cheese, Bulgogi beef, King sauce, sunny side up egg, drizzle and parsley, sandwiched between garlic butter Texas toast. Don’t forget the side of Wang hot sauce!
- Bacon King: scrambled eggs, bacon, American cheese, King sauce, drizzle and parsley, sandwiched between garlic butter Texas toast
Giving Back
The Egg King trio enjoy bringing food to the community, and helping it as well. They do this by donating 10% of all proceeds to the Justice League of Food. This program helps underprivileged and homeless youth in training and providing job placements in the culinary world.
Want more?
Want more behind the scenes of cool people and businesses in Des Moines. Check out our “Meet” category at the link below.
