Bunsik Continues UK Expansion with Brixton and Trafford Centre Launches

Bunsik, the UK’s No.1 Korean street food brand, is continuing its rapid UK expansion with the launch of two new locations this May, opening in Brixton, South London on 15 May and Manchester’s Trafford Centre on 20 May.

The openings mark Bunsik’s 11th and 12th UK locations, as the fast-growing brand continues to build momentum across London and key regional cities through its Korean corn dogs, fried chicken, tteokbokki and wider Korean street food offering.

Since launching in London in 2021, Bunsik has become the UK’s No.1 Korean street food brand, widely recognised for spearheading the viral Korean corndog craze in the UK and generating millions of views across TikTok and Instagram through its highly visual food offering.

Led by founder Jae Cho and backed by the wider Maguro Group, the brand has built strong momentum across London and regional cities through a fast-casual model combining high-volume footfall, strong social engagement and broad consumer appeal.

Jae Cho, Founder of Bunsik, said:

“Opening our 11th and 12th Bunsik locations is a major milestone for the brand and reflects the continued demand we’re seeing for Korean street food across the UK. Following the continued success of our existing Manchester site in Piccadilly Gardens, expanding further into Greater Manchester with Trafford Centre felt like a natural next step, while Brixton gives us an exciting opportunity to bring Bunsik to a new part of London with a fantastic food culture and energy.”

Brixton

Opening at 490 Brixton Road, London, SW9 8EQ, Bunsik Brixton marks the brand’s first South London location, as well as its first franchised site within London.

The Brixton opening is led by franchise operator CMB Hospitality, headed up by Vicente Marti, and is a significant milestone within Bunsik’s wider franchise expansion strategy.

Vicente Marti said: “Bunsik stood out to us straight away as a brand with huge growth potential. The product is strong, the customer demand is already proven, and Jae and the wider Maguro Group team bring a huge amount of operational experience to the business. As franchise partners, we have real confidence in the brand and while Brixton felt like the right location for our first site thanks to its energy, footfall and strong food culture.”

Trafford Centre

Bunsik will then open at The Orient food court within Trafford Centre in Manchester, positioning the brand within one of the UK’s busiest retail and leisure destinations.

The opening marks Bunsik’s 12th UK location and second site within Greater Manchester, building on the continued success of its Piccadilly Gardens restaurant, which has proven strong awareness and demand within the Manchester market since launching in 2023.

Kitty Vaughan, Head of UK F&B and Leisure at Pradera, Trafford Centre’s asset managers, said “Trafford Centre continues to host a strong and diverse mix of F&B retailers, and the addition of a brand such as Bunsik helps to further evolve the scheme’s line-up of tenants and enhance the overall customer experience.”

Bunsik has partnered with youth employment charity Street League to support recruitment for its new Trafford Centre location. Working closely with the charity’s employability team, Bunsik and Street League hosted a dedicated recruitment drive, with more than 30 young people interviewed through the partnership. The initiative has already resulted in 13 roles being filled, with training now underway ahead of launch.

The Trafford Centre location is currently planned to be the final Maguro Group-operated Bunsik site, with future expansion expected to focus primarily on franchise-led growth as the brand continues to scale across the UK.

Both launches will follow Bunsik’s established opening model, including phased promotional activity and its popular free corndog giveaway mechanic, designed to generate strong footfall, customer engagement and launch-week visibility.

Further franchised openings are planned across the UK throughout 2026.

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