THE KOREA ECONOMIC DAILY, GLOBAL EDITION

Korean food, or K-food, is popular around the world. And it’s almost become a rite of passage for foreigners who come to South Korea to try and eat traditional Korean food.

Here’s a reality check. Even Koreans are often sick of Korean food and they want to take a break from eating Korean food and try Western. Without limit at that.

Hwang Sung-yun, who assumed the top post at Eland Eats Co., an affiliate of Eland Group, in 2021, saw such needs and decided to open more Ashley buffet restaurants in Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area.

His strategy worked.

Ashley is now the most famous Western-style buffet in the country, offering unlimited Western-style dishes.

People come to the restaurant outlets to celebrate their birthday with friends and schools hold a welcome or closing party there.

Ashley is also a favored spot for office lunch gatherings and solo diners. On weekends, the wait time can be up to two hours.

OVERCOMING COVID-19 BLUES

Launched in 2003, Ashley once had as many as 155 outlets. That was in 2014.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused the number to plummet to 59 by 2022. Ashley has since regained its popularity as a value-for-money buffet, overcoming the downturn in the restaurant industry.

Now called Ashley Queens, the buffet restaurant on Thursday will open its 100th outlet – Starfield Market Jukjeon – in Jukjeon-dong, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

The new Ashley Queens outlet, located on a 762-square-meter plot of land, will have 230 seats.

Following Eland Eats’ business strategy, Starfield Market Jukjeon has turned into a premium store, Ashley Queens.

Previously, Ashley had a diverse menu at different prices under brands such as Ashley Classic, Ashley W, Ashley W+ and Ashley Queens.

Despite upgrading the outlets, food prices have barely changed. Ashley Queens offers over 200 different dishes, including Korean, Western, barbecue, sushi and desserts, with a weekday lunch price set at 19,900 won ($14.9).

DEVELOP NEW MENU TAILORED FOR KIDS

Ashley Queens has strategically opened outlets mainly in metropolitan and newly developed locations, focusing on catering to families, particularly children, with dishes like mushroom gnocchi, honey butter potatoes and chocolate fondue.

Company officials said expanding the Ashley brand beyond buffets into home meal replacements (HMR) and deli products has also enhanced its brand recognition.

Some popular buffet dishes such as nasi goreng have been introduced as "Deli by Ashley" products and ready-to-eat meals at Eland’s supermarket Kim’s Club.

Eland Farm & Food Ltd., which manages the Ashley HMR and ready-to-eat food, expects its sales to reach 100 billion won by the end of this year.

1 TRILLION WON BRAND BY END-2025

Eland Group aims to grow Ashley into a 1 trillion won brand by next year, encompassing outlets, home meal replacements and deli products.

In the first half of this year, Ashley Queens' sales reached 170 billion won, surpassing 70% of last year's total sales.

It expects annual sales of 400 billion by year-end.

Boosted by Ashley Queens’ growth, Eland Eats' overall sales also surged. Its sales increased from 200.8 billion won in 2021 to 380 billion won last year, a nearly 90% rise in two years.

“We plan to raise the number of Ashley Queens’ outlets to 120 by the end of this year,” said an Eland Eats executive.

Write to Sul-Li Jun at sljun@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.