2 KPOT execs share how experiential dining is key to torrid growth pace

Take-Away with Sam Oches

Nation's Restaurant News

Business, Entrepreneurship

2.5 • 15 Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Maggie Farrell and Victor Chow, the VP of marketing and VP of operations for KPOT, the fast-growing Korean barbecue and hot pot chain with a unique, do-it-yourself experience at its core. According to this year’s Technomic Top 500, KPOT grew its location count by 72% in 2024, and its sales by 34%. Already in 2025 it’s opened more than 20 locations, with 115 open today — and it didn’t even exist until 2017. Maggie and Victor joined the podcast to talk about what makes KPOT so special, why it’s resonating with American consumers today, and what has been key to keeping up with its remarkable growth pace.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

Experiential dining is riding high — but ‘experience’ is in eye of beholder
No matter the experience you want to create, your team is responsible for facilitating it
Tailoring a unique experience to each individual customer could be wave of the future
American consumers are hungry for a diversity of menu options
Challenges don’t seem challenging when you’re part of a team tackling them together

Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at [email protected].

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, welcome to Takeaway with Sam Ocas, a podcast from Nation's Restaurant News.
0:04.3	I'm Sam Ocas, editor-in-chief here at NRN, and this is the show where I give you an all-access pass to the restaurant industry's most influential decision-makers.
0:12.2	This week, I'm talking with Maggie Farrell and Victor Chow, the vice president of marketing and the vice president of operations for K-Pot, the fast-growing Korean barbecue and hot pot chain
0:22.6	with a unique do-it-yourself experience at its core. According to this year's Technomic
0:28.0	Top 500, K-Pot grew its location count by 72% in 2024 and its sales by 34%. Already in 2025, it's opened more than 20 locations with 115 open today,
0:42.2	and it didn't even exist until 2017. Now, mind you, K-Pot is not a small footprint fast casual,
0:49.3	where you can punch these into any market or real estate and operate them with a small team.
0:54.5	Note, these are 8,000 square foot boxes with a complex menu and 70 to 80 team members.
1:00.6	Maggie and Victor joined the podcast to talk about what makes K Pot so special,
1:05.1	why it's resonating with American consumers today, and what has been key to keeping up its
1:10.5	remarkable growth pace. In this
1:12.7	interview, you will learn more about why experiential dining is riding high, but why that experience
1:18.0	is in the eye of the beholder, why American consumers are hungry for a diversity of menu options,
1:24.4	and why challenges don't seem challenging when you're part of a team who's
1:29.0	tackling them together. As always, be sure to like and subscribe to takeaway on Apple, Spotify,
1:35.1	or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please also leave your feedback on those platforms as it is a great
1:40.4	way to share the show with new listeners. You can also follow me online where I am most
1:45.5	active, which would be LinkedIn, or you can now follow me on TikTok at Takeaway Sam. That's at
1:51.6	Takeaway Sam. Jumping now into my interview with K Potts, VP of Marketing Maggie Farrell and VP of
1:58.0	Operations, Victor Chow. Also, don't forget to stick around after the interview,
2:01.6	as I will share my five takeaways from this discussion, actionable insights that you can take with you
2:06.2	on the go. Okay, I'm sitting down with Maggie Farrell, the vice president of marketing for K-Pa,
	...

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