By Johanna Wilson Jones

Jason Tinh wants to take epicureans on culinary escapades that will surprise and delight them bite to bite, texture to texture, and taste to taste.

He never wants diners to visit JEM Social and leave believing they have just experienced good food. Tinh desires to take folks to the top of the cuisine mountains where they see and encounter gastronomical gems.

“We get fresh produce, all of our own sauces, everything down to our hash browns – we don’t buy off the shelf or off the truck, we make it fresh in-house,’’ said Tinh, executive chef and owner. “And I think that lends itself to the best quality product we can put on the plate. I love seeing people’s faces when they see something different, or they try a cocktail or dish that blows really blows their mind.’’

The building JEM Social calls home at 7601 N. Kings Hwy. in Myrtle Beach used to be a Pizza Hut location, but folks would never know if they didn’t before.

This place, which Tinh opened in August 2022, is an amalgamation of a restaurant, a party spot, a reunion nook, and a jazz club. It is a place every adult can appreciate for its grownup character and its hip edge.

“I am a first-generation American,’’ he said. “It’s kind of an American dream to open a restaurant.”

Velvety chairs in chambray blue, basil green, ballet slipper pink, and other colors help create an electrifying but relaxed environment under soft lights and neon messages against the walls of JEM Social including “living the good life.”

Patrons parking their palates at JEM Social get their picks from a thoughtful menu with options for vegans, vegetarians, and meat devotees.

The roasted rainbow carrots look too pretty to be eaten, but they certainly get chowed down. The rustic garden salad is a lettuce trio of bibb, iceberg, and romaine playing footsies with tomatoes, cucumbers, herb buttermilk dressing (made in-house, of course), and a crispy deviled egg. Carnivores get a kick out of the steak frites with a starring cast featuring a pan-seared center-cut New York strip with truffle butter, potatoes confit, tossed arugula, and lemon aioli.

“I just had the best dining experience ever tonight at JEM Social,’’ Jun Sus said in a recent Google review. “(I’ve) lived in Myrtle Beach for 7 years, and this was the best quality food I’ve had yet. Amazing food, drinks, staff, and service. My new to got to spot.”

Tinh, who started in the restaurant industry as a dishwasher at a barbecue restaurant in Garland, Texas, will celebrate 20 years in the business in 2025.

“Crazy to think the number of dishes washed, people fed, cocktails shaken,’’ he said.

Typically, Tinh works 65 to 70 hours a week.

“With long hours and no real holidays, we miss a lot of moments with our families,’’ he said. “I think that is the one trade-off that makes this job tough.”

Yet, the bustle of the restaurant business is what he likes most.

“I think for every chef that chooses the long hours and daily grind of the kitchen, we live for the hustle and rust of a busy day,’’ said Tinh, who counts his mother, Li Trinh, as the top chef in the family because her meals bring back his childhood memories. “It’s a thrill that only chefs understand. A rush that no 9 to 5 desk job can ever fulfill. (The gratification of) knowing we (fed) people and (made) people happy. That’s what I love about the job.”

Xuyen Trinh, Tinh’s grandfather, inspired him to become a chef.

“Growing up, my parents often worked long days and late nights. So, my grandparents would watch me and my sisters,’’ he said. “Every evening, my grandfather would prepare dinner for us, and we would sit down while watching the Food Network.”

Cooking and television shows celebrating it were yet in vogue.

“One thing I fondly remember was that he would often say one day he was going to open a restaurant for our family,’’ he said. “I am just happy that I was able to finish the dream for him.’’

Although his grandfather has since died, he is still galvanized by the legacy he left.

His grandfather and father, Steven Tinh, escaped Vietnam in 1970 during the Vietnam War.

“Stories of how they came to this country without a dollar to their name to pursue the American dream is a huge inspiration to me,’’ he said.

Tinh is thrilled he made his late grandfather’s hope of owning a restaurant come to pass with the birth of JEM Social. He has tall trees of love that keep growing in his heart for his family, and the restaurant is one of the branches.

He moved his family from Texas to South Carolina to be closer to the family of his wife, Jeannie, the mother of their five children who is from Socastee, ages 1 ½ to 15. The restaurant is named “JEM” because they are his gems, and it is an acronym for his three youngest – Jaxon, Emma, and Madelyn.

“Jason is a big family man,’’ said Aimee Cevallos, sous chef at JEM Social. “He will tell us, ’I am doing this for my kids. At the end of my day, I want a good, comfortable chair. As long as my kids have all they need, I am happy.’”

Corey Baunchalk, a former sous chef at Sea Captain’s House, said Tinh is a meek leader at work.

“Jason is respectable and humble,’’ said Baunchalk, his chef de cuisine. “He is kind and hardworking and not afraid to help the team in any way possible. He doesn’t put himself above any task.”

Cevallos praises Tinh for his unyielding support of women in the industry.

“He has female leadership in the kitchen, in the front of the house, and the bar manager is a woman,’’ Cevallos said. “I don’t have anything against men, but it is nice to see he is giving women opportunities.”

She said Tinh is a visionary. He is resolved to help make JEM Social an irresistible dining destination for people in Myrtle Beach and beyond.

“Jason wants to bring a brand-new environment when it comes to eating out in Myrtle Beach,’’ said Cevallos, who worked in the front and back of the house at Mexico Lindo, an eatery about 30 years old that is owned by her parents, Ruben and Miriam Cevallos. “He wants people to be excited about making reservations.”

Tinh is leading their team on a mission, she said, to be a year-round thrilling restaurant that everyone – not just tourists – desires.

“Jason wants people to leave thinking about dishes and (return) to get them because they can’t stop thinking about them,’’ Cevallos said.

Tinh and his kitchen staff are creating dishes they believe will be unforgettable. Nobody is snitching, but they feel the newest culinary conceptions, once revealed, will be pleasing to palates, and people will persist in returning for more.

What can be shared is this: If their plans come to fruition, their fanbase will expand, and demand they keep preparing and sharing the food gems.

Tinh believes his background in hospitality and front-of-the-house experience gives him an advantage over other chefs because he better understands what guests want.

“The total dining experience becomes less about ego and more about making people happy,’’ he said.

Baunchalk agreed.

“I think we are doing 100 percent differently than many restaurants,’’ Baunchalk said. “We’re not just focused on seafood and buffets. We don’t turn and burn. One hundred percent of our food is cooked to order. We get our hands on the freshest produce. We are all about creating that perfect experience for the guests.’’