Chicken franchise chains are enjoying a boom from the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.
According to Genesis BBQ Group on the 19th, as of 1 p.m., after the second group-stage match between Korea and Mexico ended, sales at major stores were about 4.5 times higher than usual. The share of stores that opened early, which was at the 50% level on the 12th for the Czech match, expanded to 70% for the Mexico match.
Some stores began operating at dawn to accommodate group cheering customers. At BBQ Euljiro-ipgu, about 100 group cheering customers visited during the Czech match, so the store opened at 6:30 a.m. for the Mexico match. BBQ Hongdae-ipgu also began dine-in operations in the morning.
A Genesis BBQ Group official said, "It is meaningful that additional sales occurred during hours when we normally do not operate, and the proportion of dine-in customers through advance reservations was large, and phone orders also increased significantly, suggesting that customers' demand to watch the match appears to be a driver of sales growth."
bhc also opened major stores in key Seoul commercial districts early so customers could watch the match. An official at Dining Brands Group Co., which operates bhc, said, "Dine-in stores in major commercial areas, including university districts, were fully booked during match times, clearly showing demand from customers who wanted to enjoy the game with chicken."
With the national team performing well, demand to cheer for the World Cup is forming even for weekday morning matches. According to the industry, on the 12th, when the Czech match was held, sales at BBQ and bhc from the morning of the match day to 1 p.m. were more than four times higher than the same time the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Korea men's national soccer team will play its final group-stage match against South Africa at 10 a.m. on the 25th.