Genesis BBQ expands to U.S. colleges, stadiums

Genesis BBQ, a major Korean franchise restaurant operator, is expanding to major sports venues and college campuses across the United States, the company said on Monday.

Genesis BBQ signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Levy Restaurants on Monday to open shops at 92 major sports stadiums and 125 college campuses in the United States.

It will first start at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta with a food stand and delivery cart, and expand to other NFL and MLB stadiums.

BBQ will give 20 to 30 percent of its profits to Levy as loyalty fees.

“With Levy, we are making an entry into a restaurant business that combines eating out with sports and entertainment,” said Yoon Hong-geun, the chairman of Genesis BBQ.

“This is a meaningful new step for our globalization goals,” Yoon added.

Setting up shops at sports venues costs less - about one-third of what it would normally cost for a storefront - and tends to generate steady revenues, the company said,

BBQ Genesis expects the sales from 92 sports venues to be around 2.4 trillion won ($2.2 billion) annually.

“It will be our cash cow,” the company said in a statement.

BBQ Genesis will start with chicken tenders and wings, and has plans to will develop new menus for American consumers.

It will also build a central kitchen in the United States to secure a reliable supply and logistics chains.

Levy Restaurants, owned by Compass Group, is based in Chicago and operates restaurants and food kiosks across the United States, including in the high-profile McCormick Place convention center and Disney World.

Genesis BBQ, better known as operator of BBQ Chicken, has 500 shops in around 30 countries. It plans to open 1,000 more in China this year.

It aims to open 10,000 stores in the United States, and 50,000 globally by 2020, the company said.

“This MOU is a step closer to becoming a global food brand like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s,” the company said.

BY PARK JUNG-YOUN [park.jungyoun@joongang.co.kr]