Bonchon opened what the Tampa Bay Times identified as the chain's first full-service Tampa Bay location at The Hub at Lexington Oaks in Wesley Chapel on May 20. The 70-seat restaurant operates with a full bar and outdoor patio — a materially different format from the chain's existing Tampa location, which runs as a fast-casual concept without those amenities.
Bonchon built its domestic reputation around a double-fry technique applied to bone-in wings: crisped twice, then glazed in soy garlic or spicy sauce. The Wesley Chapel kitchen extends that core into a fuller Korean comfort food lineup that includes bibimbap, bulgogi, japchae, and cheesy tteokbokki alongside the signature chicken.
The full bar is the sharpest differentiator between the Wesley Chapel location and its Tampa counterpart. A licensed bar and patio moves the format into sit-down dining territory, positioning the restaurant to capture dinner and weekend volume that a counter-service setup cannot absorb in the same way. The 70-seat capacity reinforces that framing — this is a destination format, not a convenience stop.
The Hub at Lexington Oaks sits in a commercial corridor that has drawn steady restaurant and retail investment alongside Wesley Chapel's population growth. Pasco County's residential expansion has put the area on the radar for both regional and national operators seeking high-traffic suburban locations, and the dining inventory in Wesley Chapel has shifted accordingly — away from a purely chain-dependent mix toward a broader range of sit-down concepts. Bonchon's decision to commit to a full-service build-out, rather than a stripped-down counter unit, fits that trajectory.
What the chain has not publicly confirmed is whether additional Tampa Bay locations are in development, or whether Wesley Chapel represents a singular lease opportunity. The Tampa Bay Times covered the May 20 debut but did not include operator statements on expansion plans or the site's prior tenant history.
The location is open now at The Hub at Lexington Oaks. Whether the full-service format becomes Bonchon's template for the broader Tampa Bay region — or a one-location experiment in suburban Pasco County — will become clearer over the next year of operation.
