Dive Brief:
- Bonchon promoted Suzie Tsai, who has been chief growth officer since August, to U.S. CEO, the company said in an email to Restaurant Dive on Tuesday.
- Tsai has over 25 years of marketing and branding leadership experience and has worked at On The Border, Chili’s, KidZania and Verizon.
- She will take over for Bryan Shin, who will move to Bonchon’s International CEO and Group CFO position, where he will focus on international growth. Shin was named U.S. CEO last May.
Dive Insight:
While Tsai has only been with the company for roughly six months, she has decades of restaurant leadership experience, mainly focused on marketing, according to her LinkedIn profile. A bulk of her career was spent at Brinker International, where she held various positions for over 12 years. Her marketing experience will be particularly useful as the company expands into new markets.
The Korean fried chicken chain will enter new areas this year, including Southern Florida, Little Rock, Arkansas, Tucson, Arizona and Ann Arbor, Michigan. Bonchon first entered the U.S. in New York City in 2006 and is on its way to growing to 500 units from its current 130 with plans to reach 1,000 units in the next five years.
In 2023, the company signed over 40 locations for development, and expanded within existing markets including Chicago, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Denver, Houston, Nashville, Tennessee, New York City and Washington, D.C.
Bonchon also has focused on growing in alternative locations such as malls and food courts and opened its first two ghost kitchens and first hotel unit in 2023. It plans to debut in an airport in 2025.
“Bonchon continues to evolve and strengthen critical elements in our offerings, from menu and technology, to store formats that reach our customers when and where they get that one-of-a-kind Bonchon craving,” Tsai said. “We look forward to breaking into new territories and exploring possibilities in the years to come.”
