Major Korean Coffee/Dessert Chain Sets US Debut

Twosome Place (Seoul, S. Korea) a premium café chain with more than 1750 locations in its home country, has unveiled plans to open its first unit in the U.S., in Alexandria, Va. Slated to open in mid-October at 404 King Street in that city’s Old Town neighborhood, the café will have about 2600 square feet of space and feature 78 seats (including an outdoor area).

“Our debut in the Washington, D.C., region is an important milestone for Twosome Place as we look ahead to future growth in the U.S.,” said Jay (Young Joo) Moon, the brand’s CEO. “We’re excited to introduce American consumers to the café culture we’ve built over the past two decades, one centered on quality, hospitality and creating a place where guests can gather over exceptional coffee and cake.”

The new café will offer Twosome Place’s signature cakes, including its trademark-registered strawberry chocolate cream cake and bestselling ice box cake. Alongside classic espresso beverages, Twosome Place will introduce Korean-inspired items developed specifically for the U.S. market, including handcrafted beverages like the Dalgona cream top, black sesame latte, Misugaru frappe and Korean apple cinnamon tea. An all-day menu will feature K-toast with bulgogi and egg, K-chicken panini and bibimbowl.

Though the chain plans two other U.S. locales, it did not offer specifics on those moves. Founded in Seoul in 2002, Twosome Place (which, per the opening image, usually operates its locales as “A Twosome Place”) was acquired in late 2021 by the Carlyle Group, a Washington, D.C. private-equity firm.