There’s a Korean takeout counter inside an Uptown convenience store

PePeRo, a small family-run restaurant in the back of a market, is fantastic, but technically it’s in Matthews.

China Wing, a casual joint in a repurposed Long John Silvers, is good but, as the name suggests, it’s a Chinese-Korean fusion.

And Seoul Food Meat Co. will be the first to tell you it is “NOT a traditional Korean restaurant.” (That’s verbatim from their website.)

When all else fails, the Super G Mart on Independence has a Korean counter in the food court area.

So imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon a Korean takeout counter right in the heart of Uptown.

Rolling down Church Street on my bike, I spotted a sign that read “NOW SERVING KOREAN TAKEOUT.” Come again?

I did what anyone would do at 10:30 a.m. and stopped to see if I could get some bibimbap.

The Korean takeout counter at Avenue Market is open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Avenue Market, a nondescript two-aisle convenience store at the base of a high-rise condo tower, probably isn’t on your radar unless you live in the building. But it might be now that you know there’s Korean food inside.

If you’re thinking to yourself, HOW did I not know about this? It’s probably because they quietly rolled it out a couple of months ago and have only started promoting it in the last two weeks.

Hence, the sign I saw.

The simple 5-item menu features hearty meals for $10 or less.

It’s a one-person operation and everything is made to order so be patient. You can call your order ahead to avoid the wait.

Here’s the full menu:

And here’s what we ate:

Team Agenda ordered one of everything.

Don’t watch this while hungry:

You’ll find Avenue Market at 210 North Church Street. The Korean takeout counter is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The call ahead number is 704-332-9000.