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Derek Cha | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United States of America |
| Occupation | CEO |
| Known for | Founder of Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken |
| Spouse | Annah Kim |
Derek Cha is an American entrepreneur, best known as the founder and CEO of Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken.
Cha was born and raised in South Korea. At age 12, Cha and his family migrated to the United States. In 1985, Cha started two framing businesses named "Art and Frame Depot" and "Art and Frame Warehouse." He eventually grew both businesses into a large chain of 80 stores nationwide, generating between $5 million and $10 million a year in revenue. [1] By the year 2009, none of the original 80 stores remained open or were operating profitably. Six months later, Cha opted for a completely new venture - frozen yogurt. [2]
In 2009, Cha and his wife opened the first Sweet Frog in Short Pump, Virginia. Several months later on July 7, they opened their second store in Chesterfield, Virginia, which was even more successful than the first store. Their next stores were then opened in Chesterfield, Richmond, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, and Williamsburg, all located in Virginia. [3] The growth continued in 2011, as Sweet Frog opened 29 stores, and accelerated in 2012 as 113 more Sweet Frog stores opened, mostly located in the east coast states of Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania. On April 17, 2012, at a time when Sweet Frog had 180 stores operating in the United States and a few foreign countries, Boxwood Capital Partners made a minority investment into Sweet Frog Enterprises, LLC, [4] the company that owns and operates Sweet Frog. [5] In 2019, Cha was convicted of domestic battery against his wife and co-founder. [6]
Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken, the rapidly-growing Nashville-style chicken franchise founded by Derek Cha & Mike Kim. With presence from the East to the West Coast, as well as Dubai and Korea, our establishment aims to provide customers with the ultimate dining experience. Featuring the renowned signature Nashville-style chicken sandwich, our premise is simple yet impactful: to deliver the finest chicken sandwich in town and create lasting memories for you and your loved ones to cherish.
Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American multinational fast food chain founded in 1940 and currently headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota. The first Dairy Queen was owned and operated by Sherb Noble and first opened on June 22, 1940, in Joliet, Illinois. It serves a variety of hot and fried food, as well as original frozen dairy products that vary from location to location.
Arby's is an American fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants. The flagship property of Inspire Brands, it ranked third in systemwide sales in the United States in the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industries in 2012, behind Subway and Panera Bread. In October 2017, Food & Wine called Arby's "America's second largest sandwich chain ".
Wawa, Inc. is an American chain of convenience stores and gas stations originating in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and located along the East Coast of the United States, operating in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Florida, Alabama, and North Carolina. Wawa is based in, primarily associated with, and mainly concentrated in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, though in recent years it has gradually expanded its store locations beyond the Philadelphia area. The company's corporate headquarters is located in the Wawa area of Chester Heights, Pennsylvania in Greater Philadelphia.
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., also known as Popeyes and formerly named Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits and Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken & Biscuits, is an American multinational chain of fried chicken restaurants formed in 1972 in New Orleans, Louisiana and headquartered in Miami. It is currently a subsidiary of Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International. As of 2021, Popeyes has 3,705 restaurants, which are located in more than 46 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 30 countries worldwide. About 50 locations are company-owned; the other ~98% are franchised.
Books-A-Million, Inc., also known as BAM!, is a bookstore chain in the United States, operating 260 stores in 32 states. Stores range in size from 4,000 to 30,000 square feet and sell books, magazines, manga, collectibles, toys, technology, and gifts. Most Books-A-Million stores feature "Joe Muggs" cafés, a coffee and espresso bar. Stores operate under the names Books-A-Million, Bookland, Books & Company, and 2nd & Charles.
Braum's Inc. is an American chain of ice cream parlor and fast food restaurants. Based in Oklahoma City, Braum's was founded in 1968 by William Henry "Bill" Braum in Oklahoma City. The company operates over 300 restaurants in 5 states, primarily in the Southern United States, namely the West South Central states of Oklahoma and Texas.
Shoney's is an American restaurant chain headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. As of April 2024, the company operates 58 locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Kwik Trip is a chain of convenience stores founded in 1965 with locations throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan under the name Kwik Trip, and in Illinois, Iowa, and South Dakota under the name Kwik Star, although the Dixon, IL location operates as Kwik Trip. The company also operates stores under the name Tobacco Outlet Plus, Tobacco Outlet Plus Grocery, Hearty Platter, Kwik Spirits, and Stop-N-Go. Kwik Trip, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Mary Brown's Chicken, is a Canadian fast food restaurant with approximately 300 locations across Canada. The chain specializes in fried chicken.
J.CO Donuts & Coffee is an Indonesian cafe restaurant chain that specializes in donuts, coffee and frozen yogurt. The company is owned and managed by Johnny Andrean Group.
Big Apple Bagels is an American franchised chain of bakery-cafes based in Deerfield, Illinois. Coffee, along with a variety of other related products are sold. The products are sold as three different brands: Big Apple Bagels, Brewster's Coffee, and My Favorite Muffin.
Yogen Früz is a Canadian chain of frozen yogurt and smoothie stores that also serves healthy alternative food products. The chain is run through company-owned, franchised, and non-traditional partnerships. The chain operates worldwide and has its global headquarters in Markham, Ontario in the Greater Toronto Area of Canada.
Red Mango FC, LLC is an American frozen yogurt and smoothie brand known for its all-natural frozen yogurt, fresh fruit smoothies, yogurt parfaits, and fresh juices. There are now more than 50 locations in over 15 states in the United States and Puerto Rico, and one each in El Salvador and Qatar. In 2011, Red Mango was named the No. 1 Zagat Rated chain in America for smoothies and frozen yogurt.
Kahala Brands is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada-based MTY Food Group Inc. of Montreal, Quebec. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Kahala is one of North America's largest holding company of franchise fast food restaurant companies. In May 2016, the publicly traded Canadian MTY Food Group announced a friendly takeover deal with the Kahala Brands. MTY agreed to pay about US$300 million to acquire Kahala. The two companies generated nearly $2 billion in revenues in the previous year. Jeff Smit was chosen to lead the US operations of MTY.
MTY Food Group is a Canadian franchisor and operator of numerous casual dining, fast casual, and quick service restaurants operating under more than 70 brand names, some of them through wholly owned subsidiaries. Headquartered in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent, Quebec, the number of outlets carrying MTY brands reached 5,500 in 2017. Stanley Ma is the group founder, President and CEO. MTY Food Group's brands include Thaï Express, Country Style, Groupe Valentine, Vanelli's, Extreme Pita, Cultures, La Crémière, Sushi Shop, Veggirama, Caferama, O'burger, Tiki Ming, Vie & Nam, Au Vieux Duluth Express, FranxSupreme, ChicknChick, Croissant Plus, Koya Japan, Kim Chi, Panini, Tandori, Tutti Frutti, Villa Madina Mediterranean Cuisine, Sukiyaki, Taco Time, Yogen Früz, and the Canadian branch of TCBY.
Big John Steak & Onion, aka BJs & Onion or Steak and Onion and formerly Slick-Chick, Inc., is a regional sub sandwich chain. The name came from a nickname that the founder, John E. Klobucar, had received from his friends. The chain is considered a restaurant icon of the Flint Area.
Sweet Frog is a chain of frozen yogurt retail restaurants owned and operated by Sweet Frog Enterprises, LLC. Sweet Frog customers create their own soft-serve frozen yogurt with numerous flavors and toppings from which to choose. Derek Cha, who immigrated to the United States from South Korea at the age of 12, is the founder of sweetFrog. He opened the first sweetFrog shop in Richmond, Virginia in 2009, at a time when the United States economy was in a recession. Cha founded sweetFrog on Christian principles. The "FROG" part of the name, according to Cha, is actually an acronym for "Fully Rely on God".
Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt is an Oklahoma City-based chain of self-serve frozen yogurt franchises founded in 2008. It has spread to over 300 locations in the United States and has also expanded internationally.
Sisters and Brothers Bar is a restaurant in Seattle's Interbay neighborhood, in the U.S. state of Washington. It has been featured on the Food Network series Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.