CORNELIUS, Ore. — Five Stars Family Burger in Cornelius is making big waves in the restaurant world.
"We're an old-fashioned burger place with small bits of Korean twist, and we tend to keep it that way," said Goldstar Yim, the owner of Five Stars.
Yelp.com awarded them the best burger in Oregon for the second year in a row and the 6th best burger in the country — something David Yim, founder of Five Stars, was always striving for since he opened as a food truck back in Forest Grove back in 2015.
He recalls the moment he heard about his first award.
"Oh my gosh! We are so excited,” David recalls. “I [wasn’t] expecting [this award until] about 10 years later. But the dream [came] true so fast."
But get this — David wasn't always the biggest burger fan. In fact, he told KGW’s Daisy Caballero he never had a burger for the first 33 years of his life. That’s until he opened Five Stars.
“I hated it,” David revealed. “But now since opening, I have eaten at least 1,500 burgers and my wife at least 2,000.”
David is a first-generation Korean-American immigrant who is quite literally living the American dream, but it wasn't all that easy. He overcame homelessness, bankruptcy and half of his body being paralyzed from his life’s stresses.
"I tend to think that's a blessing every day to be able to be able to work with them. He has always been a role model to me and my mom,” Goldstar said. "Ever since I was little, I've been driven because of my dad and my mom constantly telling me you got to keep going, push through, you can do better than this."
As the current owner, Goldstar is now pursuing his love for cooking food after putting his college dream aside for now. And he’s doing it with his dad's homemade charcoal and grill design.
"What sets us apart from everyone else, especially with the use of charcoal,” Goldstar explained, “this charcoal is activated carbon, and it's a lot more porous than normal charcoal and more pure," which he says adds flavor to their award-winning burgers.
“All the dripping all the grease falls off the burger, and when it hits the charcoal, it doesn't just burn,” added Goldstar. “It atomizes, and that flavor goes back into the burger."
The Yims often cook with bulgogi, thin slices of sirloin or other prime cuts of beef, which takes months to a year to marinate to perfection in the family's secret sauce.
But customer service is always top of mind for David.
“Whenever a customer comes, I want them to enjoy my burger with no disappointment. That is my goal,” David said. “Money is a second thing. Happy [customers]? That's what I love!"
And while the family is pushing to one day have the best burger in the world, David thanks his wife for being his right hand in this life achievement and wants you to keep this in mind.
"Work hard. No matter what you do, always do the best you can do,” said David. “Always think positively and never give up until you try. Never say no until you try."
These are words Goldstar has lived by for his entire life.
"I don’t think there’s a better example [than our American dream] personally. Not to toot our own horn or anything,” Goldstar said. ”But to be able to start from such a low-low and to achieve highs-highs. Anything is possible.”