Get in My Belly
Jimmy Han’s eclectic bars reflect who he is: A native Angeleno whose very personality is formed by the events and history of LA. From his long-running One Night Stand brewery nights to some of the best food in the beer biz, Han has established himself as one of LA’s craft pioneers. A trend-setter. A leader.
What I really mean to say is, “Get in Jimmy Han’s Beer Belly!” The original seven-year old Beer Belly is in Koreatown. Younger sibling Belly is in downtown Long Beach and features a hidden Tiki Bar in the back. And Jimmy Han? He’s just cool. Stylish. Laid back. But sharp. Business savvy. People smart.
His eclectic bars reflect who he is: A native Angeleno whose very personality is formed by the events and history of LA. From his long- running One Night Stand brewery nights to some of the best food in the beer biz, Han has established himself as one of LA’s craft pioneers. A trend-setter. A leader.
DRENNON: Where did you grow up and how did it impact who you are today?
HAN: I was born and raised in Los Angeles so the history of LA definitely shaped who I am. I was primarily raised in Koreatown and to see the landscape develop to one of the most dense and electric nightlife areas
has been fun. Everything from the Northridge Earthquake to the LA Riots were very eye-opening for me, and watching people band together and rebuild after such big disasters really shaped how I viewed community.
Where did you go to school and what did you study?
I bounced around a couple private schools in Koreatown before going into the LAUSD public schools in the 4th grade. I started at Roscomare Elementary in Bel-Air and then
got into the Gifted And Talented Enrichment G.A.T.E. program and then eventually into the Highly Gifted Magnet program. I only got into the GATE program because I was such a trouble-maker and they tested me to see if I was either mentally-challenged or bored. I’m glad I ended up having a good reason for being a trouble-maker.
I finished 6th Grade at San Jose elementary in Mission Hills and Middle School at Portola in Tarzana. The Magnet schools were in the San Fernando Valley so I would get bussed up from Koreatown. Being in school with everyone from the smartest of kids to the less fortunate families definitely opened up my eyes to real world life. Like losing my backpack with all my school gear and my Walkman on the first day of school in 7th grade. That’s when I learned to
never let my stuff out of my sight. And then the rough LA street life continued until I went to college. I went to Bravo Medical Magnet High School next to LA County Hospital and then Fairfax High for my senior year.
Bravo was a brand new school at that time and I thought I might be interested in the medical field. Senior year in Fairfax was so I could ditch everyday with my best friends and get into trouble. I was basically done with all my high school studying and college testing by senior year. Then I ended up going to UC Riverside and bounced around a bunch of majors until I finished with a BA in Psychology on the 5-year program. I
almost dropped out of college because I wanted to start working in real estate but I decided to finish for my parents. I thought that even if I made a bunch of money and bought them nice things like a car or house, it still wouldn’t be
as meaningful to them as handing them a college diploma. I’m glad with the decision I made.
Did you know early on you wanted to be a restauranteur and bar owner or was that a happy accident?
I think growing up in Los Angeles and partying in K-town my whole life, I always dreamed of owning a club or bar. I always thought it would be a sports bar. We still need a legit one in Koreatown. But I also believe in following your passion and at the time, I was just more passionate about
craft beer than anything else. I thought about a wine bar or a champagne bar or a Korean fusion bar. But the more and more I got into the local beer community, it was a no-brainer. I wanted a craft beer bar.
So obviously you fell in love with craft beer at some point. When was that?
One of the aha moments was when I was sitting drinking an Anchor Steam and reading the bottle about their process for Steam Beer. I found it so interesting about the different brewing process that made my Anchor Steam beer so tasty. So I decided to dive into the rabbit hole a lot more often and seek out as many different styles and beers as I could. Soon after I had a daily ritual of sitting down in solitude with a new beer, poured into my favorite glass, and enjoying, smelling, looking, tasting, and mouth-feeling my beer into tasting notes and also reading about what other people thought about the same beer on Beer Advocate. It was almost meditative and spiritual but also very educational and enlightening. The buzz was a nice perk as well.
How did you come up with the idea for Beer Belly and, of course, the cool name?
After we had decided to open a craft beer bar, there were a bunch of names at the top of list like The Library, or The Barn, or my personal favorite, 99 bottles. But no matter which name I’d imagine sticking with, they all got old and played out after a couple weeks. But there was one name that I never got tired of. Beer Belly. It was playful and felt right.
Had there been other breweries, brewpubs or beer bars that inspired you?
The original craft beer bars in LA were extremely inspirational to me. They proved to me that it could be done and still be very cool. The OG’s for me are Father’s Office, Verdugo Bar, Surly Goat, Tony’s Darts Away, Blue Palms and 33 Degrees Alehouse.
Beer Belly in Koreatown is one of our older craft joints at a whopping seven years old. How have you seen the beer scene in LA evolve over that time?
7 years old on May 20th. I really really wanted to open on April 20th, 2011, but we got delayed a month. When
we first opened in 2011 in Koreatown, most of our customers didn’t know what an IPA was. Now they only drink hazies! JK. But watching the local craft scene explode into what it is today is bonkers. In 2011, there wasn’t enough local beer being made to keep all 12 of our taps hyper-local. Now there’s so much beer available that
it’s hard to get all the good beer on a regular rotation!
You opened a second Belly in downtown Long Beach. Why?
We chose Long Beach because of the strong community there. People are so proud to be from Long Beach. They’re like, “We aren’t from LA, we aren’t from OC…WE’RE FROM LONG
BEACH!” And I’m all about that kind of community. There are also a lot of beer industry people that live in Long Beach. I took that as a sign. And being next to arguably the best brewery Beachwood and The Blendery on the “Barley Block” was the deal-closer for me.
You bought Frank N Hanks a few years back and also curate the craft beer program for Coachella as well as the annual Eat Drink Vegan festival. Seems like a helluva lot of work!
I’ve been fortunate to take the things that I’ve learned from Beer Belly and parlay that into things like a dive-bar by Beer Belly in Koreatown called Frank N Hanks and a Tiki Bar in the back of BB Long Beach and curating craft beer and beverages for Goldenvoice festivals like Coachella and Eat Drink Vegan. It’s an honor to take this craft beer journey and
continue to do what I love. The latest project is being invited to open a food and beer stand in the new LAFC Los Angeles Football Club stadium, Banc of California Stadium, in downtown Los Angeles. It’s a beautiful stadium designed by Gensler and having a new soccer team in LA has been quite the experience. I was lucky enough to be allowed to curate a small craft beer list even though big beer companies have huge sponsorships in the stadium.
Similar to festivals, it’s always nice to see something carved out for local independent breweries and to be able to have some market place for consumers in the important fight against corporate big beer. Watching
LAFC build their home and club from the ground up reminds me a lot of how the local craft beer scene was built. The community starts in the streets and is inclusive of everyone.
People get together and gather around the things they are passionate about. Doesn’t matter what you do and where you came from. It’s down-to-earth, very welcoming, and a strong sense of community. Even beyond the amazing fruited sours and the hoppy pilsners, I’m thankful for all the people that
I have met along the way and I’m honored to call all these people my friends, family, community.
That’s so LA.
