Judy Joo builds Seoul Bird estate with new sister brand and first airport site

As reported by MCA​​​, Restaurant​’s sister site, the group has opened a new kiosk location within Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London.

Dubbed Seoul Birdie, the new site opened last week in the stadium’s South Side Market and serves all of the brand’s signature dishes.

Seoul Bird’s menu is a fusion of Korea and America and majors in fried chicken that’s brined in soy for 24-hours before being double-fried in rapeseed oil for a glass-like crunch.

Alongside the new opening, Joo is also preparing to launch Seoul Bird’s first airport site at Edinburgh Airport, which will operate in partnership with Airport Retail Enterprises.

Joo, who is best known for her five year stint running Korean street food and sharing plate restaurant Jinjuu in Soho, launched Seoul Bird with chef and restaurateur Andrew Hales in Westfield London back in 2020​​.

The pair followed this with a restaurant in Canary Wharf’s Jubilee Place​​ the following year.

In 2022, Seoul Bird expanded beyond the UK with the opening of its first US site​​ in Las Vegas, which operates in partnership with Clique Hospitality.

The group has subsequently established two further US locations, both in New York.

Last month, Joo told MCA​ she is actively seeking new sites in London​​, alongside the US, Middle East and continental Europe.

“Our criteria is a busy high footfall area with both residential and commercial traffic,” she said.

“We predominantly look at second-generation sites as we are conscious of capital expenditure and want to protect return on investment.”