Late Night 101 brings 'in-and-out' dining experience to downtown JC

Late Night 101, a new restaurant in downtown Johnson City, is providing an "in-and-out" experience for its customers. Owner Bulent Yaman – who is also the owner, alongside his wife Sengul, of the Red Meze restaurant – said the previous Korean Taco House space at 101 Buffalo St. provides diners with an assortment of menu items that includes cheeseburgers, hotdogs and french fries. The restaurant itself, though, does not provide a dine-in space, but rather a "walk-in fast food experience." "Late Night 101 is like American comfort food," he said. "Since it's a very small place, we decided to go futuristic – just app ordering and pick-up and go. It's kind of like a food truck or Pals or Cookout, just instead of a drive-thru with a car, people can come in." Yaman said opening another restaurant was never "in the plan" for him and his wife. However, he said Sengul walked into the Red Meze with the owner of Late Night 101's building, and before he knew it, a contract was signed to lease the place for the new restaurant. "Things happen for a reason, I guess," Yamal said with a chuckle. "We've been very fortunate. It's close to us and a different concept." Yaman added being in the restaurant business was always an interesting time to balance what will work and what will not. With Late Night 101, he said while there was never an original idea to start the second restaurant, he was excited to see what success it might see and bring a new concept of order and pick-up to the downtown area. "I'm not sure if it's going to work out or not – it's just the chance I take," Yaman said. "It might work out, it's good. If not, I won't be losing my sleep over it because I have [the Red Meze], and it's been pretty successful…It's growing, and we're getting older, so we'll see what's going to happen." Yaman said only minor renovations for Late Night 101 had to be done, such as the addition of new point-of-sale systems and interior walls being constructed. New cooking hoods had to be completed as well. An additional perk of the business, he added, was the DoorDash component that was set up for customers to use if visiting in-person was not preferred. "I think I'm doing more DoorDash right now than physical," Yaman said. "I don't know – people tend to like to pay more, but they like that comfort food, and the prices are low so I think people will [do] more on DoorDash on that part. It's grab-and-go, so whoever grabs it, they can go!" Yaman said opening the restaurant in downtown Johnson City was also because of a major component in the restaurant business: visibility. He explained that because of the location of Late Night 101 and his experience in restaurant operation – both good and bad – the downtown space provides a higher chance of success. "People need to see you to be able to stay in their mind," Yaman said. "Downtown is a less risky place to open up a restaurant. More traffic attracts people – I learned that the hard way." The soft opening for Late Night 101 was Dec. 24, and Yaman said a grand opening for the restaurant will likely take place in March. In the meantime, Yaman said he is eager to see the restaurant's progress and response of the community as its lifetime grows. "Money is still important to run the thing, but being successful is more the driver," Yaman said.