Bonchon Chicken is plotting a comeback in Herndon and Annandale.
The Korean fried chicken chain plans to reopen its Herndon location under different owners, and it has secured a new space in Annandale within the same shopping center where the business saw its previous restaurant destroyed by a fire.
Both locations are expected to open by the end of this year, a Bonchon spokesperson told FFXnow.
“Herndon closed last year and is re-opening under new ownership. We are excited to bring Bonchon back to the existing customer base,” she said. “…Our original Annandale location caught fire and closed last year; thus we needed a new home.”
Bonchon originally opened at 13348E Franklin Farm Road in Herndon’s Franklin Farm Village Center on Feb. 28, 2014, but by 2022, the location was consistently earning 1-star ratings on Yelp. Reviewers lamented the “declining quality” of the food, describing the chicken wings as small, dry and overcooked.
In addition to bringing in new owners, the company is updating the 1,045-square-foot space’s look, submitting a commercial alteration permit application to Fairfax County in July that’s currently under review.
Annandale’s new Bonchon will be located at 7133B Columbia Pike in the Giant shopping center, taking over a 933-square-foot suite previously occupied by the Korean fried chicken outlets Choong Man Chicken and 92 Chicken.
The new restaurant is significantly smaller than the nearly 4,000-square-foot one that Bonchon opened nearby at 7215 Columbia Pike in 2014. That standalone building, which was also home to a barber shop, a mailing service and the Korean eatery To Sok Jip, was devastated by a fire on March 12, 2023 that caused over $2.2 million in damages.
The building’s windows remain boarded up, though the debris that led the county to hit the property owners with code violations in December appeared to have been cleaned up when FFXnow drove by over the weekend. To Sok Jip relocated to 7123 Columbia Pike last fall.
Though it’s not reflected in the Yelp ratings, the Bonchon spokesperson says the original Annandale restaurant “received positive feedback from the community” while it was open.
“The location will open with our new store design that showcases our South Korean roots and growth in the U.S.,” the spokesperson said. “The previous location was a very successful location, and we are looking forward to reconnecting with the community.”
Originally started in Busan, South Korea, in 2002, Bonchon arrived in the U.S. via New York City in 2006 and has since expanded to over 400 locations worldwide, including 130 in the U.S. The company plans to reach 500 American locations and 1,000 locations worldwide in the next five years.
In the Fairfax County area, the chain can currently be found in Reston, Fairfax City, Springfield and Centreville.
Bonchon says specific menu details for the Herndon and Annandale franchises will be available closer to opening, but in general, the restaurant serves soy garlic, spicy, Korean BBQ-flavored chicken wings, drumsticks and strips, along with other Korean dishes like bulgolgi and bibimbap.
Screenshot of Herndon Bonchon via Google Maps
