Korean fried chicken is coming to the Walmart aisles of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho. bb.q Chicken, a Korean fried chicken chain, is planning its first-ever New Mexico restaurants inside local Walmart stores, bringing crispy wings and drumsticks to shoppers already running errands for groceries.
A Yahoo Finance report says the chain is planning five new locations across Albuquerque and Rio Rancho, with openings beginning in July.
What is consistent across both reports is the general footprint: bb.q Chicken is targeting Walmart stores in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho for its New Mexico debut. The Fast Casual report pins the Rio Rancho site specifically at 901 Unser Blvd. SE, which lines up with a Walmart Supercenter listing for that address, identified by Walmart as store number 3732.
Four Albuquerque Addresses, One Rio Rancho Site
According to the Yahoo Finance report, the planned Albuquerque locations include 2701 Carlisle Blvd. NE, 3500 Coors Blvd. SW, 2266 Wyoming Blvd. NE and 400 Eubank Blvd. NE. The same report describes the openings as bb.q Chicken's first expansion into New Mexico altogether, calling them the brand's debut in the state.
On the timing, the Fast Casual report states that bb.q Chicken will open its first New Mexico restaurants in July 2027, while the Yahoo Finance account says openings begin in July without specifying a year in the quoted material. Neither source has confirmed the exact opening date for each individual location.
A National Push Backed by a Digital Ordering System
bb.q Chicken U.S. CEO Joseph Kim framed the move as a milestone for the brand, saying the company was excited to expand into New Mexico for the first time with the new locations, per the Yahoo Finance report. Customers will reportedly be able to order in-store, online and through the bb.q Chicken app, and the Fast Casual report adds that third-party delivery platforms will also be an option.
That ordering flexibility is backed by infrastructure already in place elsewhere in the chain. bb.q Chicken has implemented Deliverect's digital ordering and menu-management platform across more than 250 U.S. locations, the outlet notes, with the system linking bb.q Chicken's Toast point-of-sale setup to third-party marketplaces including Uber Eats, DoorDash, GrubHub, Fantuan, Hungry Panda and EZ Cater.
A Chain on a Growth Tear
The New Mexico plans fit a pattern of rapid expansion for bb.q Chicken, a Korean fried chicken chain based in Seoul, South Korea, that maintains its U.S. headquarters in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and already counts more than 230 locations across the United States. The chain was founded in Korea in 1995 and expanded into the United States in 2014, according to lehighvalleylive.com, which reported plans for bb.q Chicken's first Lehigh Valley location at Shoppers Village in Bethlehem, moving into a space that previously housed Quick Print T's.
bb.q Chicken posted 43.18% year-over-year unit growth in 2022, and roughly 99% of the system is franchise-owned, according to a separate Fast Casual report. Globally, the chain is described by What Now Boston as having more than 3,500 locations worldwide.
What New Mexico Shoppers Can Expect
For now, the appeal for New Mexico shoppers is straightforward: convenient dining built into an errand they are already running. bb.q Chicken has said the Walmart locations will provide shoppers convenient dining options and serve customers seeking takeout and dinner choices.
Five restaurants are planned, and whether doors open in July 2027 or sooner remains unsettled. What is clear is that Albuquerque and Rio Rancho shoppers will soon have a new reason to linger near the Walmart entrance.
