Young Lee is on fire.
Sure, he shrugs when people call him the king of Korean barbecue. But with $10 million in yearly sales from 29 franchised restaurants, his Costa Mesa-based Flame Broiler Inc. stands out among the mom and pop eateries that dot Orange County.
Flame Broiler serves healthy, Korean-style fast-food, mainly chicken, beef, rice and vegetables.
“Flame Broiler is based on the food that I grew up eating,” Lee said, “only it’s got an American twist.”
Orange County is home to 19 Flame Broilers. The others are elsewhere in Southern California and Arizona. More are planned in Mission Viejo, La Habra, Lake Forest and Irvine.
Lee opened the first two Flame Broilers in Fullerton and Santa Ana, but doesn’t own any restaurants anymore. He now runs the business as a franchiser, generating revenue from licensing fees.
The target for a Flame Broiler is $600,000 in yearly sales, Lee said.
The strategy: sell a lot of food at low prices. A Flame Broiler meal usually sells for $1 to a $1.50 less than what his rivals might charge, Lee said.
“We’re in the penny business,” he said. “The key to making money is about volume. Sell a lot of product for a fair and reasonable price.”
There’s a lot of competition, from one-off Korean barbecues to other Asian food chains that tout healthy menus, including Torrance’s Yoshinoya West Inc., Rosemead’s Panda Restaurant Group Inc. and San Clemente’s Pick Up Stix, part of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc. of Texas.
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Flame Broiler in Laguna Hills: simple menu designed for franchisees, customers, Lee says |
In-N-Out Inspiration
Lee stresses simplicity. The menu has only a few items: marinated, chicken and beef, rice, vegetables and salad.
He cites a seemingly unlikely model: Irvine’s In-N-Out Burgers Inc.
“In-N-Out is a great source of inspiration for the way we do our business,” Lee said. “Our menu is simple. We’re not trying to make everything for you. We’re making items that some of the population is looking for.”
The small menu makes the business easier to manage, Lee said. All franchisees make their food the same way: Meat is barbecued on grills and griddles, rice is steamed in cookers, vegetables are steamed and salads are tossed.
The cooking is designed to be easy to follow for franchisees, he said. Customers also can come to expect consistent food, according to Lee.
“Anyone could open one of these stores and learn how to make the food,” he said.
About half of franchisees are Korean-Americans, Lee said. Others run the gamut, from Indians to African-Americans, he said.
Except for vegetables, all of the restaurants get their food from a supplier that Lee declined to name. Another company supplies Flame Broiler’s marinades and sauces. Some paper products and utensils are made solely for the chain.
Lee, originally from South Korea, opened his first Flame Broiler in 1995 with a partner near his home in Fullerton. Within a year, they opened a second in Santa Ana. His partner left the business shortly after, according to Lee.
Restaurants weren’t Lee’s first choice.
He came to the country with his parents in 1972. The family lived in Los Angeles, where Lee’s dad worked for a can manufacturing plant. His mother was a seamstress at a sewing factory.
Lee went on to study economics at the University of California, Los Angeles. After graduating, he worked in the dental, sales, life insurance and mortgage businesses.
He found himself on the road a lot, stopping at fast-food restaurants. That’s when the idea for healthier food on the go came to him.
After opening the first restaurants, Lee said diners often asked him if they could open their own Flame Broilers. He said he dismissed the thought at first.
The more people asked about franchising, the more Lee said he realized he could mass market his idea. With rice bowls with less than 500 calories, Lee said he saw how his food could fit into the market for healthy, Americanized Asian cuisine.
Lee worked with franchising lawyers and started selling the idea to others. This year, eight restaurants are set to open, two in Arizona.
Restaurants range from 400 square feet to 2,000 square feet. In all, Flame Broilers employ about 200 people, Lee said.
Most franchise requests come from out of state, Lee said. But he said he’s not thinking about going national. The goal is to grow slowly, he said.
“Our concept is ready to go national in terms of product,” Lee said. “But finding the right people to own a franchise and follow our system is the challenge.”
Sticking to the Plan
Teaching franchisees how to be part of Flame Broiler poses the biggest challenge, according to Lee.
Sometimes franchisees want to tweak their menus or use products from different suppliers, he said.
“The most difficult part of running this business is teaching franchisees how to be a part of the system,” Lee said.
Wife Sarah and another full-time employee work with Lee on Flame Broiler’s franchising system. The three work out of a 1,700-square-foot office in Costa Mesa.
This year, Lee plans to start another Flame Broiler of his own in Irvine to use as a training ground for franchisees. He said he’ll eventually sell the eatery, like he did with his original restaurants.
In five years, Lee said he hopes to go organic with Flame Broiler’s food. The company’s looking to start with vegetables and then move to organic meats.
As for adding to Flame Broiler’s sparse menu, Lee said he’s not interested.
