52 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {food coloring} Every aspect of Hurrica restaurant in Redwood City, from the aquatic color scheme to the marine-themed artwork, the beautifully designed decor to the fresh local ingredients on their seasonal menu, has been carefully crafted and curated. So it’s surprising to hear that co-owner MeeSun Boice considers herself an accidental restaurateur. “I think I take on challenges in my career because it’s kind of like soul-searching. You find out who you really are and what you’re capable of,” she reflects. MeeSun’s willingness to face a challenge may stem from her childhood. She was adopted from an orphanage in South Korea when she was eight and transported to Kansas. “People used to call me names and threaten me,” she recalls. “I didn’t see another Asian face for 10 years. But you can choose whether you want to be a victim of it. I learned that if I wanted something, I had ABOVE: Hurrica co-owner MeeSun Boice stands next to the restaurant’s enormous jellyfish tank. to go out and get it for myself.” After climbing the financial corporate ladder, then switching to the world of tech, she realized she was putting in too many hours at the office without enough to show for it. “I thought to myself, ‘If I’m going to spend this much time working on something, I need to do it for myself,’” she says. A self-proclaimed foodie, MeeSun reached out to chef and restauranteur Parke Ulrich, a friend who had already seen success with his eateries Epic Steak and Waterbar in San Francisco. “I saw how hard he worked and I dined regularly at his restaurants. So we decided to build something together,” she says. After opening Mersea on Treasure Island in 2018, MeeSun and Parke started looking for another water-centric locale to open their second restaurant. Despite its out-of-the-way location, she
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