Yoon Hong-geun, Chairman of BBQ, "Planting the First Flag in 7 US States in the Second Half of This Year"

Village on the Park BBQ store in Aurora, Colorado, USA. Photo by BBQ

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Genesis BBQ Group is set to expand its stores across the United States in the second half of this year.

BBQ plans to open its first stores in Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Oklahoma in the second half of this year. Currently operating in 19 states including Colorado, BBQ will increase its presence to 26 states across the U.S.

As of the end of last month, BBQ operates over 150 stores in the United States. The number of stores has steadily increased from 78 in 2020 to 101 last year. Including about 100 stores in Canada, BBQ operates approximately 250 stores across North America.

Yoon Hong-geun, Chairman of BBQ, recently stated at the company's 27th anniversary event, “We will solidify our status as a global dining brand by expanding our territory in North America, including the U.S., the birthplace of franchising, and use this as a stepping stone to pioneer global markets such as Europe, Japan, China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Indonesia.” Chairman Yoon has recently entrusted domestic operations to the new CEO, Jung Seung-wook, and is focusing on global business expansion.

U.S. regional politicians such as Ellen Park, a member of the New Jersey State Assembly, Jared Polis, Governor of Colorado, and Mike Coffman, Mayor of Aurora, have expressed positive views toward BBQ. This is expected to accelerate BBQ’s brand recognition in the U.S. and its global business expansion.

The global dining industry magazine Nations Restaurant News recently ranked BBQ 2nd among the 25 fastest-growing dining brands in the U.S. BBQ’s U.S. sales increased by 41.9% compared to the previous year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.