Genesis BBQ Group (hereafter BBQ), operator of the BBQ chicken franchise, said on the 15th it opened its fourth store, BBQ Town Center, at the Town Center mixed-use commercial complex in the southeast of San Pedro Sula, Honduras' second-largest city. After entering Honduras with its first store at Masdeval Plaza in San Pedro Sula in February, the company expanded rapidly to a fourth location in about a month and a half.
In addition to the Masdeval Plaza store (first) and the Town Center store (fourth), BBQ has opened its second store in La Ceiba, the key northern hub known as a major tourist and port city, and its third store in Choluteca, the representative inland hub city in the south.
San Pedro Sula, where the fourth store is located, is considered Honduras' second-largest city, with a population of about 900,000. It is a national core hub concentrating the economy, commerce, and logistics, and a representative commercial city with developed manufacturing, distribution, and trade industries. It is not only a key market where global dining brands such as McDonald's, Burger King, Applebee's, and Subway have entered, but also a place with active middle-class consumption.
BBQ Town Center is built with 24 seats (about 168.6㎡). It is currently operating as a QSR (quick service restaurant). Along with signature chicken items such as Golden Fried, Yangnyeom Chicken, and Soy Garlic, it is also offering K-food items including tteokbokki, rice bowls, and chicken fried rice.
BBQ is currently operating 24 stores in Central America and the Caribbean, starting with Panama and Costa Rica and including the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Honduras. Based on this, it plans to accelerate expansion into major South American countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile.
A BBQ official said, "As we have signed a master franchise (MF) agreement with our Honduras MF partner covering four countries—Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador—we will continue to expand our Latin American business at a rapid pace," adding, "We also plan to open the fifth and sixth stores in Honduras in July. We are preparing to open large flagship stores in Guatemala City (the capital of Guatemala) and San Salvador (the capital of El Salvador) within the third quarter."