Gen Restaurant Group Signs Binding Letter of Intent to Sell 47 Restaurants to Chubby Group for $100 Million

Originally reported by Restaurant Dive.

Gen Restaurant Group, the Nasdaq-listed parent of Gen Korean BBQ, has signed a binding letter of intent to sell 47 of its restaurants to Chubby Group for $100 million, Restaurant Dive reported on October 14, citing the company's press release. Gen's board approved it unanimously, and the parties are working toward closing within the next 30 days, according to Gen's announcement. Gen keeps the Gen brand and its consumer packaged goods business, and will restructure its corporate overhead to support only CPG.

Chubby, which runs Chubby Cattle, Wagyu House and NIKU X and is called Chubby Cattle Group in trade coverage, said in an October 15 release that the deal is valued at up to $100 million and includes four Gen development sites. It will take over the restaurants in four phases over 12 months, starting with 12 locations targeted for November 1, 2026, and relaunch each as GEN X, a wagyu-forward Korean BBQ format, or as a Chubby Club concept, under a perpetual license to the Gen brand. Gen will hold a note convertible into Chubby equity at a $1.5 billion valuation. Chubby also announced a $50 million Series A led by Prysm Capital at a $500 million valuation.

The sale follows earlier steps away from dining rooms: Chubby took a 51% stake in five Gen locations through a joint venture, and Gen divested six underperforming locations in the second quarter, four of them to that venture, according to Restaurant Dive. Gen said the sale should substantially reduce its approximately $160 million of lease liabilities. It will keep about three restaurants, one in Cerritos and two in South Korea, the Orange County Business Journal reported.

Why it matters

Gen is becoming a packaged food company that licenses its restaurant identity to another operator. Gen says its products, led by ready-to-cook marinated meats, are sold through Albertsons, Costco and other warehouse club and grocery retailers. FSR magazine reported that the CPG division, launched in late 2025, had 56 SKUs earlier this year, from frozen meats and beef jerky to GENJU soju, and that Gen's same-store sales fell 9.3 percent in the second quarter. Selling the restaurants swaps that operating exposure for lower lease obligations, a note receivable and an option on Chubby's growth.

The license is the piece to note: if Chubby relaunches locations as GEN X, the Gen name stays on dining rooms Gen no longer runs, keeping the brand in front of diners but tying part of its reputation to an operator Gen does not control.

What to watch

Whether the parties sign definitive agreements and Chubby takes over the first 12 restaurants on its November 1 target. Closing remains subject to definitive agreements, license and lease transfers and regulatory approvals, per both companies, and the pace of lease transfers will set how fast Gen's roughly $160 million in lease liabilities falls.

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Sources

• Restaurant Dive: Gen Restaurant Group sells 47 restaurants for $100M to Chubby Cattle Group
• FSR magazine: GEN Korean BBQ to Sell 47 Restaurants to Chubby Cattle in $100 Million Deal
• Orange County Business Journal: GEN Sells Restaurant Operations for $100M to Chubby Cattle Group
• ACCESS Newswire (via Finviz): GEN Restaurant Group Board Approves Binding LOI with Chubby Group for $100 Million Restaurant Transaction
• PR Newswire: Chubby Group Closes $50M Series A Led by Prysm Capital at $500M Valuation; Signs Deal to Purchase 47 GEN Korean BBQ Restaurants