Taiwan's largest potsticker chain has planted its flag in North Texas. Bafang Yunji International opened its first Texas location this month at 2540 Old Denton Road in Carrollton, testing a stripped-down, quick-service format that company leaders say is already outperforming the made-to-order setup used at its California stores.
The Carrollton store, part of a corridor Carrollton officials tout as a hub for international dining alongside Gen Korean BBQ and Kura Revolving Sushi, per AllEvents, held a pre-opening event on September 25 that coincided with Taiwan's Mid-Autumn Festival, according to the seed facts from BigGo Finance. Company executive Lin Hsin-yi said the store completed a soft-opening stress test in September, and the outlet reports that Carrollton council members and local figure Steve Babick attended the launch gathering.
A Faster Model Built for Volume
During its fiscal 2026 second-quarter earnings call, Bafang Yunji reported that the new assembly-line setup in Carrollton served 100 to 120 customers per hour, a sharp jump from the roughly 20-minute wait customers faced for made-to-order items at the chain's California locations, according to BigGo Finance. Management is now weighing whether to convert select California stores to the same assembly-line format to boost throughput there as well.
The Texas menu leans on simplified combo meals and an open-kitchen visual ordering flow, offering potstickers, dumplings, and beef noodle soup alongside Taiwanese sausage, pork meatball soup, fried pork cutlet, salads, soft drinks, and newly introduced Korean-style fried dumplings, per the seed facts from BigGo Finance. That bundled approach appears to be resonating quickly: combo meals generated nearly 70% of total restaurant revenue during the Carrollton store's first three days of soft-opening operations, the same BigGo Finance report notes.
Central Kitchen Carries a Heavy Price Tag
Behind the counter speed lies a costly bet on infrastructure. Bafang Yunji has established a central kitchen facility in Texas and applied for USDA certification to allow interstate distribution of pre-portioned dough, fillings, and sauces to future stores in Arizona and California, the outlet's report states. But that facility carries an annual depreciation cost of roughly NT$30 million, or about $940,000, which executives disclosed creates a significant overhead hurdle on the path to North American profitability.
USDA certification delays and postponed store openings contributed to ongoing operational losses in California during the first half of 2026, the report notes. As a result, the same account describes the company's North American breakeven as hinging on rapidly opening more Texas and Arizona stores to help absorb those fixed costs.
Carrollton as a Launchpad for a Three-State Push
Carrollton was chosen for the flagship in part because of its population growth, ethnic diversity, and Taiwanese technology-company presence, according to the seed facts sourced from BigGo Finance's reporting on the opening. Carrollton and Phoenix together are described as forming a critical tech corridor for Taiwanese investment in the U.S., and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport ranks third globally in passenger traffic, both details cited in the same coverage.
The company calls its broader push a “three-state, three-track” strategy spanning California, Texas, and Arizona, with Arizona still the only unrealized leg of that first-phase expansion. Bafang Yunji currently holds seven signed leases across Texas and Arizona, including five Texas locations set to open progressively; a Frisco store has entered the renovation phase and is expected to open before the end of the year, while the remaining sites move through design and permitting.
Founder Lin Jiayu and his wife opened the original Bafang Dumpling in Tianmu, Taipei, in 1998, initially making potstickers for neighborhood students before growing the business into a publicly traded company, according to AllEvents. The brand made its North American debut on March 26, 2022, with its first U.S. store in City of Industry, California, as reported by Wikipedia.
A Record-Setting Year Fuels the Expansion
The Carrollton opening arrives as Bafang Yunji rides a wave of record numbers back home. The company operated 16 U.S. stores as of August, up from 12 during the same period last year, and globally ran 1,412 locations, including 1,325 in Taiwan and 71 in Hong Kong, per the seed facts tied to the BigGo Finance report. The Taiwan brand has now surpassed 1,000 locations domestically, adding 25 net stores there in the first eight months of 2026, while sister brand Liang She Han added 12 net stores over the same stretch.
August consolidated revenue hit NT$820 million, or about $25.7 million, a record monthly high since the company's stock market listing, while first-eight-month consolidated revenue reached NT$6.223 billion, or roughly $195.3 million, also a record for that period. The company is targeting more than 20 U.S. store locations by the end of 2026, according to Taiwan News, which also reported that Bafang Yunji posted full-year 2025 global consolidated revenue of NT$8.79 billion, or about $275 million, and net profit of NT$856 million, a 9.51% year-over-year increase.
With the fourth quarter traditionally its peak season and cooler weather expected to boost demand for hot foods like noodle soup and dumplings, company leadership is optimistic about record full-year revenue and profit, according to the seed facts drawn from the BigGo Finance coverage. Bafang Yunji, traded as 2753.TW, is also targeting double-digit net store additions annually across its dual flagship brands as it pushes deeper into the Sunbelt.
