Steve's Story - Managing Partner of b.b.bop Rice Bowls
I'm Korean, but being raised in the States since I was 3 months old, I never knew much about my home country. That all changed in 2001 when I accepted an opportunity to revisit my country of origin, South Korea, in order to better understand my heritage. While I was there for a year, an interesting thing happened to me. I ate more than I had ever eaten my entire life, yet I continued to loose a lot of weight. What I realized was that the food I was eating in Korea lacked all the excess fat and grease that we commonly find in the U.S. When I came back to the States, I tried to continue eating healthy, but it didn't take long for me to get sick of eating salads and sandwiches. Finally, in 2007 b.b.bop was born. An Asian fusion restaurant dedicated to offering balanced, healthy meals.
Gregory Bussey - Partner
Executive Chef of Victor Tangos in Dallas Born and raised in Los Altos, CA, Greg was always around California's bounty of culinary talent, and resources. He studied Biology at UC Davis and went on to work at a couple wineries in Sonoma. From there he followed his true passion and decided to enroll at California Culinary Academy. He then took his newly learned skills and went to NYC where he worked at Areole under Charlie Palmer and Dante Bacuzzi, then went on to continue his training at The River Cafe in Brooklyn with Brad Steelman. Greg and his wife relocated to her hometown, Dallas, where he began working at Nana and then went on to be the Sous Chef at Steven Phyles. He worked there before continuing on to work at Hibiscus with the Consilient Restaurant Group. He currently works at Victor Tango's as the Executive Chef.
Executive Chef of Victor Tangos in Dallas Born and raised in Los Altos, CA, Greg was always around California's bounty of culinary talent, and resources. He studied Biology at UC Davis and went on to work at a couple wineries in Sonoma. From there he followed his true passion and decided to enroll at California Culinary Academy. He then took his newly learned skills and went to NYC where he worked at Areole under Charlie Palmer and Dante Bacuzzi, then went on to continue his training at The River Cafe in Brooklyn with Brad Steelman. Greg and his wife relocated to her hometown, Dallas, where he began working at Nana and then went on to be the Sous Chef at Steven Phyles. He worked there before continuing on to work at Hibiscus with the Consilient Restaurant Group. He currently works at Victor Tango's as the Executive Chef.
Sandy (Bussey) Shin - Partner
Private Chef From a young age Sandy always dreamt of being a Chef. She studied at California Culinary Academy where she met her husband, Greg, and began work at The Four Seasons in Las Colinas, a suburb of Dallas. Missing her fiancé (at the time) she decided to move to New York City where she worked at Amuse and Henry's End. Due to family circumstances she decided to move back to Dallas and began working at Central Market. She continued her career as a private chef where she cooked for individuals such as Governor Rick Perry, and Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert. She currently is a stay at home mom for their baby boy.
Private Chef From a young age Sandy always dreamt of being a Chef. She studied at California Culinary Academy where she met her husband, Greg, and began work at The Four Seasons in Las Colinas, a suburb of Dallas. Missing her fiancé (at the time) she decided to move to New York City where she worked at Amuse and Henry's End. Due to family circumstances she decided to move back to Dallas and began working at Central Market. She continued her career as a private chef where she cooked for individuals such as Governor Rick Perry, and Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert. She currently is a stay at home mom for their baby boy.
Jerome Valdez - Partner
Born in Houston, he studied Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, where he met his future business partners Steve and his sister Sandy. Jerome started dating his future wife, Amy, while in college and they married in 2005. Taking an engineering position in Dallas after graduation, Jerome eventually became dissatisfied with a run of the mill corporate job. He graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary and during that time became reacquainted with Steve and Sandy and met her husband Greg. As both Jerome and Steve came upon transitory periods in their lives, Steve shared his vision for a healthy, fast-food restaurant. Always being a little crazy, both Jerome and Amy loved the idea, the b.b.bop partnership was formed, and they started b.b.bop Rice Bowls.
