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Korean fried chicken and street food franchise to open in Long Island City next month

Photo via Instagram @bbqchickenus

Sept. 6, 2024 by Shane O’Brien

A new restaurant specializing in Korean fried chicken and Korean street food is set to open its doors in Long Island City next month.

bb.q Chicken, which operates more than 250 locations in North America and more than 3,500 locations worldwide, has already opened two Queens-based locations at 35-21 30th Ave. in Astoria and 158-23 Northern Blvd. in Flushing.

The new bb.q Chicken location in Long Island City is set to open at the beginning of October. Located at 10-09 50th Ave., the restaurant will seat around 60 customers, according to Chance Park, who is overseeing the project. The site was previously home to Corazón de Mexico, a Mexican restaurant that closed in 2021.

Park said the new restaurant will feature a full bar area capable of seating around ten people, a dining area in the back capable of seating 30 guests and an additional dining area that will provide seating for 20 guests.

There are no plans as of yet to install outdoor dining at the restaurant, Park said.

bb.q Chicken specializes in various flavors and sauces for its Korean fried chicken, including the Korean classic, sweet, savory and smoky sauce Galbi and its Hot Mala chicken – inspired by Chinese Mala seasoning and described as “very hot.”

It also specializes in a variety of Korean street foods, such as Ddeok-Bikki, a classic Korean street delicacy made using rice cakes and fish cakes in a sweet and spicy sauce, and kimchi fried rice, which features fried rice served with a kimchi base.

Park said bb.q Chicken’s most popular dishes include its soy garlic and honey garlic chicken dishes, while its Korean rice cakes and rice balls also prove popular in many of its other locations.

He added that bb.q Chicken had decided to open up a new location in Long Island City for a number of reasons, citing the neighborhood’s rapidly growing Asian population and the dearth of Korean fried chicken joints in the area.

bb.q Chicken began working on the new Long Island City location in July. Park said the company is excited to now be opening its doors in the neighborhood.

“Vernon Boulevard is really packed with other restaurants and bars, but there wasn’t any place to get Korean fried chicken in the area,” Park said. “We didn’t have any competition in the area and we thought that maybe people would like to get Korean fried chicken around the town.”