BBQ to open location in Panama, its first in Central America

Genesis BBQ will open its first branch in Central America next month.

The store will open on May 17 in San Francisco, Panama City.

The region is known to have heavy food traffic with various cafes, restaurant franchises and pubs.

Customers will be able to have chicken and beer at the location. The exact menu items are undecided, but the chicken franchise said dishes would be similar to those at the branch in Manhattan, New York.

“BBQ’s success in the North American market led us to expand the market scale to Central and South America,” a BBQ spokesperson said. “We plan to establish a stable market in Central America, and the Panama market will act as a stepping stone for the company to expand into the South American region.”

BBQ has over 700 branches globally in 57 countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Germany and Fiji.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]