New York City is set to see a new outpost of Pokeworks in Long Island City, Queens, early next year. This will be “one of many” coming to New York City in the near future.
The outpost will be owned by Lenlin Kandel who was the very first employee at the New York City-based chain’s flagship location in Bryant Park. Almost a decade later, the Senior Operations Manager will now own an outpost with partners Roshan Gauchan and Nijjwol Lamsal.
“It’s a full-circle moment for me after working with Pokeworks for all these years,” Kandel said. “My partners and I are excited to be opening our first location and bringing the ‘Poke Your Way’ concept to more people in the Queens community.”
The address of the Long Island City outpost has not been revealed to the public at press time.
The Chipotle-style poke bowl concept was one of the first to hit the scene in 2015, which lended itself to earning numerous awards over the years including Startup Magazine’s Top Poke Franchise last year, FastCasual’s Top 100 Movers and Shakers for four consecutive years, as well as Entrepreneur’s Best of the Best Franchises this year.
Its founders said their goal was to bring Hawaiian poke – a “crispy, fresh, healthy island favorite” – to the Mainland. Its menu ranges from poke bowls to sushi rolls, sides like miso soup and spicy edamame, and boba drinks.
There are currently outposts in Union Square, Williamsburg, Hudson Yards, Grand Central, and Fresh Meadows, as well as its flagship in Bryant Park. The Hawaiian-inspired chain has over 72 locations across the US, Taiwan, and Mexico, and is also slated to come to Canada soon.
Its growing portfolio also includes popular Queens nightclub, Thamel NYC.
