Local Vietnamese customers line up to enter the BBQ Thai Hoc branch in Ho Chi Minh City. [Genesis BBQ Group]
Local Vietnamese customers line up to enter the BBQ Thai Hoc branch in Ho Chi Minh City. [Genesis BBQ Group]

BBQ is accelerating its Vietnam expansion by opening large stores in key commercial districts across Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh City in the south, the company announced Monday.

Genesis BBQ Group launched the BBQ Greenstar branch, spanning 165 square meters, in Hanoi's Pham Van Dong area, then added the 148-square-meter BBQ Mi Duc branch in the Phu My Hung new town in Ho Chi Minh City's District 7 and the 115-square-meter BBQ Thai Hoc branch on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street in District 1.

The two Ho Chi Minh City openings came roughly two months after the chain debuted its first southern outlet at Phan Xich Long in the city's Phu Nhuan district in May, bringing its total store count in Ho Chi Minh City to three.

The Hanoi Greenstar branch sits in a commercial area dense with residential apartment complexes in the Pham Van Dong neighborhood. The Mi Duc branch, the second Ho Chi Minh City location, seats 84 and is situated in the Phu My Hung new town, a hub for foreign residents and high-income consumers. The third location, Thai Hoc, seats 48 and is in a tourism and commercial center near Ben Thanh Market and the backpacker district.

All three stores offer Golden Fried Chicken, Secret Sauce Chicken and UFO Chicken — a Southeast Asia-exclusive item — alongside K-food staples such as tteokbokki, japchae and kimchi fried rice.

BBQ currently operates more than 40 stores across Vietnam. The latest openings strengthen the brand's foothold in key commercial districts linking Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh City in the south. A company official said BBQ will "continue to build brand competitiveness in strategic commercial districts of major cities and sustain expansion across the Southeast Asian market."


andy@heraldcorp.com