The planned next chapter for GEN Korean BBQ includes something beyond a new name over the door: buffet stations for vegetables and sides, along with upgraded proteins and refreshed dining rooms.
Los Angeles, California-based Chubby Group outlined those additions in an October 23 interview with Nation’s Restaurant News. The group plans to relaunch top-performing restaurants in its proposed GEN acquisition as GEN X BBQ, while converting others to existing Chubby concepts.
For regulars used to ordering much of the meal through a server, self-service sides could change the rhythm between rounds of barbecue. The company has pointed to the buffet format at concepts such as Wagyu Factory as a comparison. Exact GEN X menus, prices and dining rules have not been announced.
What the supply network could bring
A separate October 23 SeafoodSource interview adds detail about the ingredients behind the plans. Co-founder David Zhao said Chubby intends to extend its existing direct-sourcing system to GEN restaurants as they join the group, with opportunities to broaden seafood offerings.
The group already sources Hokkaido hairy crab and king crab through Japanese fish markets and black cod from Alaska. Those are examples of Chubby’s existing purchasing program, rather than a promise that every future GEN X buffet will have those products waiting on ice.
That distinction matters when crab enters the conversation. The interviews establish an intention to improve the proteins and expand the options, but they do not establish a particular seafood selection, a new premium tier or what diners will pay for it.
Chubby’s October 15 company announcement describes a system that buys whole cattle and chickens and handles direct seafood sourcing through its own supply chain. The group intends to move incoming GEN restaurants onto that network and its Chubby Club membership system.
The handovers are still ahead
The proposed transaction covers operations at 47 GEN restaurants and four development sites, with a value of up to $100 million. Chubby has outlined four phases over 12 months, targeting the first 12 restaurant handovers for November 1.
That target is a transfer date, rather than an announced day for 12 public GEN X openings. The companies have not published the full first-wave restaurant list or a site-by-site conversion calendar. The deal also remains subject to definitive agreements, license and lease transfers, and regulatory approvals.
GEN would retain ownership of its name and packaged-food business, along with approximately three restaurants for training, staffing and product development. Chubby’s separate $50 million funding round has closed; completion of that financing should not be confused with completion of the restaurant transaction.
Some former GEN addresses have already changed through an earlier partnership. Wagyu Factory’s announced October 23 debut in Edison, for example, follows a restaurant transfer earlier in 2026. It has its own timeline.
Buffet Authority covered the broader acquisition proposal October 16. The new details bring the story closer to the table: what diners may be able to choose themselves, what reaches the grill and how the menu could change. The actual menus and conversion dates are the announcements to watch next.
