Liberty Twp. restaurant about to celebrate 1 year of serving Korean fried chicken to patrons

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

LIBERTY TWP. — Working in restaurants started as a way for Peter Kim to earn money while a student at the University of Cincinnati. He enjoyed the atmosphere of working in places where people gather.

Kim completed his degree in accounting and went to work at an accounting firm before returning to restaurants as the general manager of a sushi restaurant. He took one more accounting job before he decided to open his own restaurant.

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

Kim opened the first CM Chicken franchise in southwest Ohio in November 2022 and is celebrating the one year anniversary this month.

“I love food and have passion for it and for restaurants,” said Kim, who lives in Deer Park with his wife and two children. “I really enjoyed the restaurant environment and I had the accounting knowledge. So it made some sense for us to open CM Chicken.”

Originating in South Korea, CM Chicken brought its unique fried chicken concept to the United States in 2017.

It is Korean fried chicken,” Kim said. “It is battered and deep fried served with Korean inspired sauces. It is more crispy than traditional American fried chicken.”

The menu features wings, tenders, half or whole chickens with a choice of sauces including garlic soy, garlic spicy or red hot pepper among others.

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

“The wings are our most popular item,” Kim said. “The two most popular sauces are garlic soy and garlic spicy. Our wings are bigger than other wing places. Then we have sauces unique to CM Chicken and a couple of them have spice to them.”

The location at 7206 Towne Centre Drive in Liberty Twp. is approximately 2,700-square feet with seating for 100 inside and 30 outside on a patio. There is full service dining, take out or delivery through DoorDash or GrubHub.

The restaurant also features a full bar with “lots of bourbons,” according to Kim.

“We had an opportunity to sublease the space from El Caporal once it moved up the road,” Kim said. “The Liberty Township area is growing and things are building up. So it made sense for us.”


How to go

What: CM Chicken

Where: 7206 Towne Centre Drive, Liberty Twp.

When: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday

Online: cmchickenkorean.com

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