---
title: "TaKorean’s Next Target for Franchise Growth is Wilmington, Delaware, the Largest Downtown Area in the State"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/853c4128-6c62-4f90-b8ea-07e3aea3d08f
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/takoreans-next-target-for-franchise-growth-is-wilmington-delaware-the-largest-downtown-area-in-the-state-2719452
category: "Specialty retail"
industry: "Retail"
segment: "Specialty retail"
published: 2022-09-08T15:10:01.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:09:49.771Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/8ab81dc672f07f737f956cf88ea6cea86376.jpg
---

# TaKorean’s Next Target for Franchise Growth is Wilmington, Delaware, the Largest Downtown Area in the State

**TL;DR:** TaKorean, a Korean taco grill franchise, is expanding to Wilmington, Delaware, a city with a population of over 70,000 people. The brand is targeting the city's large population of millennials and Gen Z, who are interested in build-your-own restaurant concepts and fresh, multi-cultural flavors.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2022-09-08. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/takoreans-next-target-for-franchise-growth-is-wilmington-delaware-the-largest-downtown-area-in-the-state-2719452).*

## Story

With a population of over 70,000 people, Wilmington, Delaware, is often recognized as the urban hub of the region, rich with banking, innovation, world-class restaurants, arts and more. Now, it’s next on the docket for TaKorean, the Korean taco grill, franchise expansion.

“Wilmington is right on the I-95 corridor, so it’s really easy to access for vendors, and it’s easy for us to get to provide support,” explained TaKorean’s founder and CEO, Mike Lenard. “Locationally and population-wise, there are some pockets within the area where we could thrive.”

A standout among other parts of Delaware, Wilmington breaks from the calm beach towns of the peninsula to serve as a well-populated, easily accessible business hub.

Over one-third of the Wilmington population falls between the ages of 20 and 39, creating a remarkable customer base of millennials and Gen Z, two generations with a proven interest in build-your-own restaurant concepts, the convergence of multi-cultural flavors and a fresher take on their favorite foods.

Millennial households are pivoting their spending to fresher, less processed foods, Gen Z is seeking out anything in a bowl, and nearly everyone is looking for new, exciting flavors.

“There's not that much like us. I mean, some Korean bowl concepts also serve tacos that have opened over the years, but they can fall a little flat,” Lenard explained. “I wanted to create a fresh, light spin on the Americanized street food take on Korean food. We still have those unique flavors, but everything is made fresh, and we’ve incorporated a Latin-American twist.”

TaKorean has maintained an expectation of high quality, great flavors and colorful, customizable options since its inception, and those attributes in a quick-service model will be desirable to the Gen Z and millennial populations of Wilmington.

As the brand continues expanding, it is targeting multiple New Jersey markets and the larger Mid-Atlantic region.

*The total investment necessary to open a TaKorean franchise ranges from $306,000 to $757,500 for a TaKorean full restaurant or $186,500 to $484,000 for a TaKorean Food Court/Hall outlet. This includes a $30,000 franchise fee.*

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- franchise expansion (topic)
- Retail (sector)
- Gen Z (person)
- restaurant concept (topic)
- Wilmington (location)
- target market (topic)
- demographics (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/takoreans-next-target-for-franchise-growth-is-wilmington-delaware-the-largest-downtown-area-in-the-state-2719452). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/853c4128-6c62-4f90-b8ea-07e3aea3d08f).