Gen Korean BBQ sells 47 restaurants to Chubby Cattle Group

Gen Restaurant Group will sell all 47 of its Gen Korean BBQ restaurants to Chubby Cattle Group for $100m, stepping back from table service to focus on packaged food.

The board approved the deal and the companies signed a binding letter of intent on 14 October. First announced in August, the sale is expected to close within 30 days. Gen will keep three restaurants, including its Cerritos, California site, for staff training and menu development.

A separate stake in the buyer

This transaction would substantially reduce our restaurant lease obligations.

Gen will also take a 49% interest in a joint venture with Chubby Cattle, structured apart from the restaurant sale itself. Chief executive David Kim said Gen already has a partnership with Chubby "that is already delivering operating progress."

Gen currently carries about $160m in restaurant lease liabilities. Kim said the sale "would substantially reduce" those obligations, and the company expects to clear its outstanding debt once the deal closes. What remains is a publicly traded business built around the Gen brand and its consumer packaged goods line, sold through retail rather than restaurants.

Chubby Cattle plans to take over the 47 sites in four phases over 12 months. The company already runs 70 restaurants across more than 25 Asian dining concepts in the US, including Chubby Cattle, NIKU X, Wagyu House and The X Pot. It is targeting 100 locations by the end of 2026.

A buyer scaling fast on fresh capital

Founded in 2016 by Harby Yang, David Zhao and Joyce Li, Chubby Cattle recently closed a $500m fundraising round and says it designs, builds and supplies its own restaurants rather than leasing turnkey sites. Co-founder David Zhao called the Gen locations "an established, high-traffic platform to accelerate our national growth."

The deal adds to a run of US Korean barbecue consolidation this year, as chains weigh rising lease and labour costs against the format's steady demand. Korean cooking's pull at home has tracked its restaurant growth, and Korean chefs have also been pushing into fine dining abroad, a different bet on the same cuisine's momentum.

Gen Restaurant Group and Chubby Cattle have not disclosed terms beyond the headline price, and the agreement still requires final signing once due diligence on the 47 sites is complete.