Culinary venture brings Asian barbeque flavors, dishes to Grand Chute

Heather Graves

Staff

July 15, 2024

GRAND CHUTE – Ping Cheng said when she immigrated to the Fox Valley in 2021, she never imagined her life would be where it is today.

Looking back, the now-small-business-owner said she believes everything happens for a reason, and everything she’s encountered in her life has only made her stronger – and inevitably led to the opening of Molo Asian BBQ and Hotpot (1170 N. Westhill Blvd.).

That doesn’t mean, however, Cheng said, that the path didn’t have its share of bumps.

The journey

Cheng said she first came to the U.S. in 2018 to obtain a master’s degree in education from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

After graduation, she said she returned to her home country of China, got married and continued teaching.

In 2021, Cheng said she immigrated to the Fox Valley with her husband and began teaching at St. Mary Catholic High School in Neenah, followed by Xavier High School and Fox Valley Technical College.

Though immigrating to the U.S. brought with it many new opportunities, Cheng said it was also accompanied by many new challenges.

“I struggled a lot when I was a new immigrant – financially and mentally,” she said. “I had an easy life for my first 20-something years, but after I immigrated here and everything was new, I had to adjust myself. For some time, I was almost broken.”

Coupled with postpartum depression after the birth of her first daughter, Cheng said those first few years were challenging.

“That was a dark time for me, and I didn’t know if I could ever get back,” she said. “But it’s the Fox Valley, and I got a lot of help from other people.”

The support she received from the community, Cheng said, served as motivation. 

“At that moment, I realized I needed to be strong, and I needed to do whatever I needed to make sure I could provide a good life for my daughter,” she said. “Since then, I have become more motivated. That’s why I became a hard worker.” 

In addition to teaching, the now-mother-of-two said she worked a handful of part-time jobs – oftentimes clocking 60-70 hours a week – to save money and build security.

“Because I went through such a dark time, I understand how other women struggle when they’re not in good shape – especially for new moms and immigrants,” she said.

Looking at herself now – a successful entrepreneur – Cheng said some people can get the wrong idea that she hasn’t struggled, when in fact, the opposite is true.

“I’m successful now because I went through all the difficult times,” she said. “It made me strong and made me willing to work hard.”

Today, Cheng said what she’s doing now is more than just making money.

“First of all, I want to be a good model for my kids, for my two daughters,” she said. “I want to let them see how strong their mom is and how high you can go as a woman. Showing them that being a female entrepreneur, even though you may struggle with how to balance family and your business, we still can do it.”

Cheng said she is also on a mission to inspire other women to take the leap and bet on themselves.

“I want to help young women grow,” she said. “I want this restaurant to serve as an inspiration for others.”

Taking the leap

Though she always had an entrepreneurial spirit, Cheng said she never imagined it would manifest itself into restaurant ownership – especially because she had no experience in either realm (business ownership or restaurant management).

“It was challenging for me because I didn’t have any experience running a restaurant,” she said. “I was a teacher, so I came into this business with a teacher mindset.”

This, Cheng said, proved helpful in the organization of decor, menu selection and customer service – however, it didn’t quite hit the mark when it came to inspections and licensing.

“Getting the inspection done with the village was challenging because the restaurant is a new concept to the Grand Chute,” she said. “The inspectors never had any experience with Korean BBQ or hotpot.”

Cheng said though the process delayed the restaurant’s soft opening, she appreciated the time and effort the inspectors took to understand Molo.

“It was challenging for both sides,” she said. “They were learning and doing research. Whatever they required me to do, I tried to accommodate and meet their requirements to make it happen. Our opening was delayed several months because of inspections.”

Bringing her dream to life, Cheng said, also came with a handful of difficulties.

“I have ideas on how to make this place amazing – but how do you take those thoughts and put them into reality?” she said.

The lighted mushroom tree in Molo’s waiting area, Cheng said, is a perfect example of this.

“I had a designer design the tree and bring my idea to life, but even that conjured a lot of challenges,” she said. “For example, what kind of materials do we need? How expensive will it be? We made it happen, and then they shipped it here from China, and we had problems assembling it.”

Cheng said she also had to balance her ideas with the desires of investors.

“The investors were thinking more about how to run the restaurant to make it more profitable,” she said. “I was seeing this as my baby. Profit is a priority for me, but I was more focused on how to make everything perfect.”

Balancing the two, Cheng said, was challenging as the restaurant came together.

Molo had a soft opening in April, and as a first-time restaurant owner, Cheng said she was greatly unprepared.

“I wasn’t prepared to have a busy house,” she said. “We hadn’t yet advertised, so I didn’t think we’d be super busy – I was wrong. We got busy right away, and we weren’t prepared – we didn’t have enough staff.”

With much of the staff new to Korean BBQ and hotpot, Cheng said it was a learning experience for everyone.

“Everyone was learning at that time, and we made some mistakes – we probably didn’t provide the best service during that time and received some complaints,” she said. “But every day, we are trying to improve. We take all the good and bad feedback and do whatever we can to make Molo the best it can be.”

Now fully staffed and knowledgeable, Cheng said Molo Asian BBQ and Hotpot has a “dream team.”

In addition to the mushroom tree, Cheng said she didn’t hold back on the restaurant’s decor – which includes a photo wall and fire wall. 

“Customers have said they can tell we put our whole heart into this restaurant,” she said.

What to expect

Molo Asian BBQ and Hotpot, Cheng said, encompasses the flavors of Korea (the BBQ aspect) and China (the hotpot aspect).

The restaurant offers two main dining options – Korean BBQ or hotpot.

“Customers can do either one or both,” she said.

With the all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ option, customers choose from an assortment of fresh meat and vegetable ingredients they then cook on their table’s built-in grills.

The hotpot option allows them to again choose fresh meat and vegetable ingredients, as well as noodles and a broth, that they then cook in the pot on the table’s built-in induction cooktop.

Cheng said it comes as a surprise to some customers that they cook their food at their tables – because not many people in the Greater Fox Valley area have experience with Korean BBQ or hotpot cooking – word is spreading.

“I feel like my mission is introducing a new concept of dining experience for a lot of people – once they tried it, they all loved it,” she said.

And though there is a huge emphasis placed on providing the freshest, highest-quality ingredients possible, Cheng said at Molo, it’s about more than just food.

“When people come into my restaurant, they get to sit down and cook together,” she said. “They put their phones away because their hands are busy. It’s about spending time together, bonding and making memories together.”

The restaurant’s concept, Cheng said, is represented in its name.

“Molo means ‘More to Love,’” she said. “And the two o’s in the name – one represents the shape of the hotpot and the other represents the shape of the grill.”

For those not up for cooking themselves, Cheng said Molo offers kitchen-prepared food options.

A positive welcome

So far, she said customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I already have tons of people who moved here from big cities, like New York (and) Chicago, who have said, ‘I’ve been to so many Korean barbecue restaurants – you have the best bulgogi sauce.’ Those are rewarding moments for me.”

Cheng said her favorite part about being a small business owner is talking with customers.

“There was a family who came into the restaurant with three little kids, and after their meal, the parents came up to me and said, ‘you have no idea how much we enjoyed the meal.’ They said, usually, when they go out to eat, the kids always look at the iPads instead of interacting with them. However, (at Molo), the kids didn’t touch their iPads at all. They were having fun cooking while talking to their parents.”

Cheng said she has also received great feedback regarding Molo’s food.

“I don’t shy away from spending money to keep the quality of the food high,” she said. “I buy the freshest ingredients and the most expensive meat. People come in and say they can tell the quality of the food is high.”

Throughout the whole process, Cheng said she has received advice/feedback – good and bad – from community members and other small business owners – all aimed at supporting her success.

“They came here to give me advice and feedback to make sure I can succeed,” she said. “And that’s what Fox Valley is about. That’s why I want to do something, create something for the Fox Valley area because that’s what this community is all about – everyone is helping each other.” 

A part of the team

The Molo Asian BBQ and Hotpot team, Cheng said, recently made a special addition – Bella Mo, Grand Chute’s first robot hostess.

Bella Mo – who resembles a cat – serves as a hostess guiding customers to their tables.

“Kids – and even adults – love the process,” she said. “She talks and even sings.”

Cheng said Bella Mo also participates in birthday celebrations with the rest of the staff – which one can imagine has been a hit.

“She’s already bringing her unique flair to the team,” she said. “She’s adorable and full of personality.”

Molo Asian BBQ and Hotpot is open from noon to 9:30 p.m. daily – with the exception of Friday when the restaurant is open until 10 p.m.

For more, check out Molo on Facebook or visit, moloasianbbq.com.