HotPoint’s owner, Sean, immigrated to the U.S. from the city of Qingdao (青岛), located on China’s central coastline. Sean first arrived in L.A. five years ago, where he discovered Chinese-style hot pot was incredibly popular. After a few years in SoCal heat Sean decided the weather in L.A. wasn’t to his taste, so he moved to Bellingham with the idea of opening his own place.