A Korean restaurant chain disowned two branches in Makati City bearing its brand identity.
Samgyupsalamat, a popular Korean barbecue restaurant, issued a notice to its patrons about these stores on Facebook on March 2.
The locations mentioned are as follows:
- Makati Cinema Square
- Ayala Circuit Makati
“Notice to the public. This is to inform the public that Samgyupsalamat Ayala Circuit Branch and Makati Cinema Square Branch are not connected with the Samgyupsalamat brand and system,” the restaurant’s management said.
In the post, Samgyupsalamat attached a link to a Facebook post that showed its list of branches in the country. Both places are excluded there.
This advisory soon caught the attention of its patrons. It had since garnered 2,300 reactions, 839 comments and 897 shares on the platform.
In the comments section, several Filipinos expressed shock and confusion about the notice because both restaurants have been carrying Samgyupsalamat’s brand identity since they opened.
The Samgyupsalamat in Makati Cinema Square (MCS) was established in 2018.
The store in Ayala Circuit Makati was opened in 2022.
Both entities also have their respective Facebook pages.
Here’s the link to MCS’s page (1) Samgyupsalamat MCS – Makati Central Square | Facebook.
The latter’s Facebook account can be accessed here (1) Samgyupsalamat – Ayala Malls Circuit | Makati | Facebook.
Ayala Circuits Makati also promoted the opening of the Samgyupsalamat store in its shopping center in August 2022.
The Makati Central Square outlet, meanwhile, was also mentioned in several reports about the old shopping mall.
Some patrons asked the page in jest about the issue and the reason why the company disowned these outlets.
“Ano po chismis dito?” a Facebook user asked.
“So ano ang problema natin dito. Ano nangyayari?” another customer asked on Facebook.
Other Facebook users, meanwhile, asked for more details about the matter.
“Please elaborate because calling them a branch implies they are a part of the brand and system. Especially as they share the same brand standards as you do,” one Pinoy said on Facebook.
As of writing, no additional details about the stores in both locations were released.
Samgyupsalamat, meanwhile, has become a cult-favorite Korean barbecue place in the country since it opened its first restaurant way back in 2012.