'We run five Hong Kong Jjajang locations — family management takes the worry out of staffing and costs' [Interview]

"I have been with this brand since CEO Baek Jong-won appeared on 'My Little Television.' I want to keep running Hong Kong Jjajang until I retire."

Those were the words of Ahn So-young, owner of the Hong Kong Jjajang Guro Market branch in Guro-gu, Seoul, when she sat down for an interview Monday. Ahn, her husband and three siblings together operate five Hong Kong Jjajang stores — the largest number of franchise locations run by a single family in the brand's network.

It all started with the Guro Market branch, which opened in October 2016. At the time, Ahn was working as an optician. The push came from her father, a longtime veteran of the restaurant industry who heard about Hong Kong Jjajang through an acquaintance. Her own fond memories of eating the brand's jjajangmyeon and sweet-and-sour pork also helped seal the decision.

"My father had been running a raw-fish restaurant since before I was born," Ahn said. "His experience in the food business gave him a positive view of the brand. And because I used to eat at Hong Kong Jjajang all the time when I lived alone, I already had a good impression of it — that made it easier to commit."

Once the first store found its footing, other family members joined in. The first to act was her husband, Ma Jae-hyun. A physical education graduate who had worked in the corporate world before running a wine bar, Ma took over the Hong Kong Jjajang Geumcheon Siheung Intersection branch in 2018, marking his full entry into the restaurant business. He has since added the Gwangmyeong Haan and Boramae Park locations, and now oversees three stores.

"I felt the wine market no longer had the growth potential it once did," Ma said. "I was looking for a business with broad customer appeal that was not too tied to trends. Watching my wife's store up close gave me the confidence that this was a viable operation."

The advantages of family management show up in day-to-day operations. The family shares information in real time — new menu items, shifts in the local trade area, ingredient prices and staff matters. When a store runs short on supplies or misses an order, the others step in.

Staffing works the same way. When an employee goes on leave or a new store opens, workers move between family-run locations to fill the gap. It is not uncommon for a staff member trained at one store to rotate to another.

Managing employees across multiple stores has been one of the bigger challenges. Ahn Jeong-woo, who runs one of the locations, said he struggled with staff management when he first started out at 23. "Because it is a neighborhood business, I have always thought that managing staff is the same as managing customers," he said. "So I have consistently put in the effort."

The five stores now employ around 30 people in total. Some have been with the family for more than a decade, and it is not unusual for former employees to return after leaving.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the broader slump in the dining industry hit the family hard. Sales fell to roughly half their normal level during the pandemic. By consistently building a loyal customer base, the family held on — and sales have since recovered to about 80 percent of pre-COVID levels.

The family's goal is sustainable, long-term growth. "This is all of our livelihoods, so what matters most is a brand that can go the distance," Ahn So-young said. "Rather than getting greedy, I want to keep taking good care of the stores we have now and stay with the brand until we retire."