The Kickstarter that KQ Bistro has been teasing is live.
The ask: The campaign, titled “KQ Bistro: The Seoul of Arlington,” is raising money to help finish out the family’s Korean BBQ restaurant in Arlington. The goal is $25,000. As of Thursday morning, Nov. 5, Kickstarter showed $447 pledged from 8 backers. It’s all-or-nothing: the project only gets funded if it hits the goal by Thursday, Dec. 3, 2026, at 10:17 p.m. Central.
Where: Chef Sherry Rollins has signed a lease at 6011 Airline Road, Suite 101 — the former It’s a Wrap space, near The Yard 901 and Harvest Christian Fellowship. The campaign says the target opening is January 2027, or sooner if things line up. The restaurant’s website still lists the date as “to be announced.”
Who’s behind it: Rollins and her family. She was on the cover of Memphis Health+Fitness magazine’s Food Issue in April 2021. Born in Seoul with a Korean mother, she spent years building KQ Bistro as a seasoning and kimchi business before aiming for a storefront. The Kickstarter pitch calls the restaurant “8 years in the making.” Arlington folks may also know the family through the Arlington Color Run, started by one of her children to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
What backers get: Rewards start at $2 for a name on a digital supporter wall inside the restaurant, and include a $10 “Seoul of Arlington” sticker, a $20 invite-only grand opening tasting, Flame Card access to a secret menu, pre-opening tastings, and private preview dinners. Full tiers are on the campaign page.
Want to dig in? We first wrote about the Airline Road plans on Oct. 30, when the Kickstarter was still “launching soon.” The live campaign is at kickstarter.com/projects/kqbistro/kq-bistro-the-seoul-of-arlington, and more is at kqbistro.com.
Sources: KQ Bistro Kickstarter (verified Nov. 5, 2026), Kicktraq tracker, KQ Bistro, Memphis Health+Fitness (April 2021), Arlington Report (Oct. 30).
Photo: KQ Bistro (campaign graphic)
