Latte Stone & Slow House: Your northern pit stop

Latte Stone & Slow House in San Roque is open seven days a week from 11am to 6pm. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS)

If you fancy going on a road trip up north, why not drop by Latte Stone & Slow House and treat yourself to some hotdogs and a cold beverage before proceeding to Marpi?

Owner Kevin Cho said he reopened Latte Stone & Slow House last July 10 after being closed since March. To celebrate their return to business, the restaurant is offering 20%-30% off on its rice bowl offerings.

“Because of COVID-19 a lot of people lost work and [have] no income. That’s why we decided to do a special promotion until future notice,” he said.

For instance, japchae rice bowl that used to cost $8 is now only $5.99, while the $11 sweet & sour pork rice bowl is now just $8.99. All rice bowl meals come with free bottled water.

Latte Stone & Slow House’s salads are also discounted, with smoked salmon and avocado now just $8, while iced coffee and coconut smoothies are now only $2.50 and $4.50, respectively.

Cho said their smoothies have been a hit prior to their closure and hopes that the trend continues as they reopen. “The coconut coffee smoothie is our signature drink. We also created other flavors for those who don’t like coffee. We have chocolate coconut smoothie, strawberry coconut smoothie, and matcha coconut smoothie.”

Other bestsellers at the San Roque restaurant are their hotdogs (beef bulgogi, sausage chili, sausage corn cheese) and their bulgogi and Spam egg mayo rice bowls.

When asked why he decided to call the restaurant Latte Stone & Slow House, Cho said he chose “latte stone” because it’s a Chamorro identity, while “slow house” depicts the islands’ relaxed laidback lifestyle.

“Latte stone is for local people and slow house means please enjoy the slow life for our Korean tourists because in Korea life is always busy,” he said.

Cho said their customer base used to be made up of mostly tourists, so COVID-19 effectively wiped out 99% of their clientele. He said it’s high time that they focus on the local market.

There aren’t many restaurants in the north area of Saipan and Cho hopes that that will make their place a notable feature in that area of the island. Also, despite being new to the restaurant scene, Cho is optimistic. “…Although our restaurant has not been open for a long time, we will overcome this situation and cope wisely.”

Latte Stone & Slow House is open seven days a week from 11am to 6pm. For dine-in, deliveries, and takeout call 789-5777.