TaKorean Targets Pennsylvania for Franchise Expansion

TaKorean, the emerging Korean-inspired fast-casual restaurant, has identified Pennsylvania as a strong target market for franchise expansion. With Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs experiencing steady population growth, the brand’s leadership is confident in its ability to serve these growing communities.

“Philadelphia is a really good place for us,” explained Mike Lenard, the founder of TaKorean. “In terms of Pittsburgh, Allentown, the suburbs around Philadelphia like King of Prussia and the mall area, I’m familiar, and we now have a national brokerage with Sabre Partners in addition to a software called Buxton, which gives us robust demographic information that’s based on mobile data.”

Of course, the feel of a space, how it appears from the street and whether the brand’s operational model could succeed is very important, but Buxton data can be used to provide additional context to potential development sites.

“You really get to intimately understand, in each site, how many people visit there, what types of people visit there, what their age and income is… and also generally speaking, what their spending habits are,” Lenard added. “It places these people into categories, and we’ve created, based on our own real estate and what we consider similar successful concepts’ real estate, a guide to understanding the percentages and categories of people that allow a specific site to succeed.”

As the brand looks to expand, it prides itself on being flexible and accessible to prospective franchisees. Working to remodel second-generation real estate rather than mandating entirely new developments allows franchisees to collaborate with leadership to find a setup that is not only good for the business but also good for their entrepreneurial goals. Streamlined operational processes and equipment requirements further contribute to this benefit.

The TaKorean team remains committed to healthy growth, looking to bring on franchisees who are truly passionate about what the brand has built and can embody the mission every day. With a proven track record of operating at favorable food and labor cost margins, the barrier to entry is relatively low compared to others in the industry, and passionate leadership has created an environment that facilitates the success and further expansion of its partners.

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.