Genesis BBQ Group Opens First Store in Mexico, Expanding Latin American Footprint
Key Takeaways
- •Genesis BBQ Group has opened its first store in Mexico, located in the Zona Rosa district of Mexico City, bringing its total Latin American locations to 20.
- •The Mexico City restaurant spans 338 square meters with seating for 115 customers and offers an expanded menu including tteokbokki, kimchi fried rice, desserts, and both Korean and Mexican beverages.
- •BBQ plans to open its second Mexican store in Monterrey by the end of August, using Mexico City as a foundation for expansion into other major Mexican cities.
- •The company has recently expanded into South Africa, Colombia, and Kazakhstan as part of its international growth strategy amid intense competition in the domestic Korean fried chicken market.
- •Mexico, with a population of approximately 130 million, is considered by BBQ to be a key consumer market and an important hub for its Latin American operations.
Korean fried chicken brand Genesis BBQ Group has opened its first store in Mexico, marking a significant step in its expansion across Latin America and adding Mexico to a market that has been steadily warming to Korean cultural exports, from K-pop to K-dramas, over the past decade.
According to the company, the new BBQ restaurant recently opened in the Zona Rosa district of Mexico City, a busy commercial and nightlife corridor known for drawing both local residents and international tourists. This launch brings the total number of BBQ locations in Latin America to 20. The chain already operates stores in Panama, Costa Rica, the Bahamas, and Colombia.
The Mexico City store covers 338 square meters across two floors and a terrace, with seating for 115 customers. As BBQ's first base in the Mexican market, the restaurant offers an expanded menu that goes beyond fried chicken. Options include Korean dishes such as tteokbokki and kimchi fried rice, along with desserts and a selection of Korean and Mexican alcoholic drinks and beverages. The broader menu reflects a wider industry pattern among Korean restaurant brands entering overseas markets, where offering a fuller K-food experience rather than a single signature item has become a common approach to building local brand identity.
BBQ said it plans to use the Mexico City location as a foundation for expanding into other major Mexican cities. The company is expected to open its second Mexican store in Monterrey, in northern Mexico, by the end of August.
"Mexico, with a population of around 130 million, is a key consumer market in Latin America, and Mexico City is an important hub for expanding our local business," a BBQ official said.
"We will expand our operations into major Mexican cities to introduce BBQ's K-food to more local consumers and continue strengthening our brand competitiveness in the local market."
The Mexico debut follows other recent international milestones for BBQ, including expansions into South Africa, South America (Colombia), and Central Asia (Kazakhstan). Genesis BBQ Group, one of South Korea's largest fried chicken franchise operators, has positioned international growth as a core strategy as competition in the domestic Korean fried chicken market remains intense and consumption trends at home have grown more cautious.
