This article is part of “Where Are They Now?”—an ongoing series in which Franchise Times managing editor Emilee Wentland and reporter Alyssa Huglen catch up with emerging brands.
TaKorean has taken on many iterations over the years.
The Latin American-Korean fusion concept started as a food truck in 2010 and expanded to brick-and-mortar locations two years later. The brand has experimented with in-line locations, food halls, food courts and stadium licensing.
Now TaKorean is hitting the books with its newest venture: college campuses.
The company launched an on-campus dining spot a few months ago at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona. This location marks TaKorean’s first franchise and first opening outside of Washington, D.C., where the brand’s two company-owned units operate.
Cal Poly Pomona operates other franchises on campus. CEO and founder Mike Lenard said working with an experienced operator gives TaKorean a stable entry into franchising.
TaKorean CEO and founder Mike Lenard
“They’re an established franchisee, and they know what they’re doing,” he said. “They have their billing down, their operations down … You’re dealing with food service professionals who are ready to take something like that on.”
TaKorean began offering franchising opportunities in 2022, when Franchise Times last spoke with the brand.
Lenard said franchising has come with challenges since then, building back from pandemic struggles and location closings. While he “still believes in franchising as an interesting concept,” he recognizes the setbacks TaKorean has faced early on.
“We found you just need so much capital for marketing, so much more than we had thought,” he said. “We put probably $200,000 or so into it, and you really need to be spending at least $1 million in your first year to generate the kind of leads that you want.”
Pursuing nontraditional spaces in higher education is a way for the brand to get its feet wet, Lenard said. His cousin, a college campus consultant for food service and hospitality consultancy Envision Strategies, turned him on to the idea of on-campus dining as a lucrative endeavor. “He was like, ‘Every college campus I’ve ever been on needs a taco,’” Lenard said.
TaKorean’s fusion offerings fit well in the college market, serving Asian and Mexican cuisines popular among young consumers.
“Tacos, Asian rice bowls, salads—we hit the mark on all of the trends,” Lenard said. “Specifically with Korean food, which is gaining significant popularity, people are more familiar with ingredients like gochujang than they ever have been before. College students want the type of dining that is accessible and delicious but also a little bit new and fresh to what they expect at a campus environment.”
TaKorean opened Hawaiian virtual concept Kau Kau last fall.
Back in D.C., the company launched virtual concept Kau Kau, a Hawaiian cuisine ghost kitchen.
Kau Kau started serving Hawaiian plates last September, with Lenard’s personal ties driving the concept’s Hawaiian focus. Lenard moved from D.C. to Hawaii a few years ago with his wife, who is from there. TaKorean and Kau Kau’s menu items are symbiotic with much ingredient overlap, making the latter an easy concept to incorporate.
“From an efficiency standpoint, it works really well … and it is a good thing that we would potentially talk to future franchisees about. We can also give you this, and it works beautifully together,” Lenard said.
Lenard believes adaptability will drive TaKorean down a successful path, as this skill traces back to the brand’s upbringing as a food truck.
“It’s in our DNA to have that flexibility,” he said. “We’ve done so much—food hall, food court, food truck, stadium licensing—so we already have the game plans for all of it. The brand standards are always going to be there because it’s built into the DNA.”
