A daughter of Chinese immigrants in small town Ohio, Khailing Neoh grew up in restaurants.

Her family had connections with the owners of a Chinese buffet before the move. Her grandmother took a job at that restaurant and dedicated the time to learn everything she needed to know before opening up a place of her own. “The connection and familiarity made the transition to a new country easier,” Khailing said.

With an eagerness to see the world outside rural Ohio, Khailing left home to attend college in Cleveland before moving to Chicago where her career in corporate America began. Her career took her to Chattanooga in 2018 where she met her now husband. In 2019 his job brought their family to Greenville, the birthplace of Khailing’s upcoming restaurant Sum Bar.

Khailing started Sum Bar as a pop-up, the first held in June of 2021 at GB&D — she sold out 70 tickets within an hour. Less than a year later, in March of 2022, she announced her brick and mortar location on Washington St. in downtown Greenville.

“It was the right time, right place, and right idea,” Khailing said.

“My parents wanted a different path for me. When I told them I was doing the restaurant thing they weren’t thrilled. They’re warming up to it now, but when they heard I was officially leaving my real job they were apprehensive. They told me that they were nervous I wouldn’t have the time to see them or take vacations for myself.”

Khailing continued, “My mom said ‘you have the tools and abilities to make it in corporate America, you could be CEO!’ But I told them that this is a choice I have the privilege of making — while they felt like they had no choice when they immigrated to Ohio.”

She reiterated, “I know this is a huge privilege to be doing this,” and with a smile, “Half the things we do is just to make our parents proud, and this is all for my mom.” A goal of Khailing’s through all of this is to be able to pay for her parents and grandmother to visit Beijing.

From the beginning of this concept, Khailing had people investing in her. Her business partner made it clear that whenever she was ready to implement an idea or plan, he was ready to invest — he believed in HER as a person more than anything.

“I’ve always been so entrepreneurial. I think when you’re a child of an entrepreneur you’re 3x more likely to be one,” Khailing said.

During the pandemic, a lot of people had the time to think about what was important to them. Introspection led Khailing to missing the type of relationships people form around food. Having always cooked for her friends and herself, she’d previously never put 2 and 2 together how much it meant for her. She craved the holistic experience of people, love, and food.

Khailing is beginning the process of hiring people part-time to do more at home dinners and catering prior to her grand opening. She has plans for acquiring a wholesale distribution license to sell frozen dumplings from places like the Swamp Rabbit Cafe. Sum Bar will be as green and environmentally friendly as possible by eliminating single use items and reducing food waste.

Dim Sum is commonly a Chinese brunch dining experience — but Khailing plans on having dinner hours on Wednesday - Sunday in addition to weekend brunch. Sum Bar will feature speciality cocktails and offer a late night dining experience on the weekend.

“I love small business and supporting their owners,” Khailing said. “I will always put 10x more dollars towards small businesses over a corporation or franchise. As I was dreaming up this concept during the pandemic I was seeing other restaurants close left and right. People were pointing out potential locations for me to put Sum Bar, it felt like a win when I would see these opportunities — but it also a came at a loss. I’ve felt so conflicted buying kitchen tools and equipment from closed restaurants.”

She continued, “People think that there’s a finite amount of business and that you have to compete with others, but I think we should see how we can all work together. If I do well, I also want others to succeed. I want to be seen as part of the restaurant community and network, not competition.”

Khailing Neoh | Sum Bar | Greenville Entrepenuers