Solomon Choi
| Solomon Choi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
1980 (age 35–36) Seoul, South Korea |
| Residence | New York, NY, United States |
| Nationality | Korean-American |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
| Occupation |
Founder & CEO, 16 Handles (2008-present) |
| Years active | 2005–present |
Solomon Choi (born 1980)[1] is a Korean-American entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of 16 Handles, an American frozen yogurt restaurant chain.
Early life and education
Choi was born in Seoul, South Korea, and immigrated with his parents to Baltimore, Maryland in the United States the following year, settling in Los Angeles, California, where he was raised.[2][3] He studied marketing at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business, graduating in 2002.[2][3]
Career
Restaurants
Choi's parents were franchisee owners of two all-you-can-eat Japanese sushi and seafood buffet restaurants called Todai.[2][4][5] After graduating, he helped run one of the locations, which the family sold in 2005, an experience that taught Choi about the business of franchise restaurants.[2] He joined a startup restaurant group in 2005 and helped open Japanese restaurants and a Los Angeles-based gelato franchise, where he first learned about fast food and frozen dessert service.[2][3][6]
16 Handles
Choi learned the self-serve frozen yogurt business from a family friend who operated the frozen yogurt shop America's Cup in Costa Mesa, California.[7] The model appealed to Choi because it didn't require skilled positions or a large amount of employees. Feeling that Southern California's frozen yogurt market had already reached saturation, Choi decided to open a shop on the other side of the country.[2]
With funding assistance from his family, Choi relocated from Los Angeles to New York City and, in July 2008, opened the first 16 Handles, in the East Village, Manhattan. It was New York's first self-serve frozen yogurt shop, and the model spawned hundreds of imitators on the East Coast.[4][8] In 2013, the Wall Street Journal wrote, "Choi is the guy to thank… for bringing the self-serve craze to New York."[4] Viewing his target customer as 18-34 year old females, Choi opened the shop near the New York University freshman dorms, despite the fact that there were nine frozen dessert shops within a four-block radius. He believed that if he could win over the students, they could become longtime loyal customers.[3] In 2009, Choi decided to franchise the business, and the second 16 Handles location was opened in Paramus, New Jersey.[2] By 2013, 16 Handles had 40 locations in six states on the East Coast, with shops in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland and Massachusetts.[1][7][9] Each 16 Handles store offers 16 flavors of frozen yogurt and over 40 toppings, sold by weight.[1][7]
In June 2014, Choi announced plans to open 150 stores in approximately 10 countries in the Middle East over the next decade, in a development deal with Abu Issa Marketing and Distribution.[10][11]
References
- 1 2 3 Bruce Horovitz, "Frozen yogurt chain's breakfast twist," USA Today, February 13, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Karen E. Klein, "Franchising to Expand the Business," Bloomberg Businessweek, August 3, 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 Kevin Young, "16 Handles' Solomon Choi is One to Watch," Asian in NY, October 1, 2014.
- 1 2 3 Anne Kadet, "New York City Happily Drowning in Fro-Yo," Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2013.
- ↑ Brian Bixler, "Fro-Yo Files: Franchisees' Grasp of 16 Handles Concept Leads to Expansion of Brand," Franchise Chatter, July 29, 2013.
- ↑ Julie Jackson, "Yogurt entrepreneur looks to expand franchise," Korea Herald, October 20, 2013.
- 1 2 3 Judy Kneiszel, "One to Watch: 16 Handles," QSR Magazine, February 2013.
- ↑ "Why Did Frozen Yogurt Die in the 1990s," Bloomberg Businessweek, April 30, 2014.
- ↑ "16 Handles battles the big chill with hot cocoa froyo," Fox Business, January 5, 2015.
- ↑ "16 Handles Frozen Yogurt Expanding Into Middle East," Bloomberg Businessweek, August 29, 2014.
- ↑ "16 Handles bringing froyo to the Middle East," Fox Business, November 13, 2015.