韩国式汉堡包试图在美国扎根

Americans are used to hearing about the latest McDonald’s opening in a remote part of the world, but it’s unusual to see a foreign food franchise setting up in the United States, especially one selling the most quintessential of American foods: hamburgers.

美国人通常习惯听说世界哪个角落又要一家麦当劳开张了，但是外国食品连锁店在美国开张、而且卖的居然是道地的美国货、汉堡包，还是件新鲜事儿。

However, one plucky chain of Korean restaurants is doing just that, and recently opened its first U.S. branch in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC.

最近，一家韩国连锁店在美国正式开张，地点就选在美国首都华盛顿郊外马里兰州的伯赛斯塔市。

Grace Lee, the vice president of business development for Kraze Burger, Inc., said her colleagues considered several Korean franchises to bring to the U.S. and were met with some skepticism when they decided on a burger chain.

格雷丝·李是“疯狂汉堡”公司业务发展部门的一位负责人。她说，开始的时候，大家考虑过将好几个不同的韩国连锁店，搬到美国来试一试，最后决定打出“疯狂汉堡”；决定做出以后，并不是各方立即说好；一开始，她说，好多人都开玩笑，说真地要把韩国泡菜拿到美国来卖？意思是这个主意恐怕行不通。

“There were a lot of kimchi jokes,” she said.

Kraze, pronounced “crazy,” started in 1998 and was inspired by an American hamburger chain called Johnny Rockets. It has grown quickly, and there are now over 100 locations in Korea. The company has recently expanded to Singapore, Hong Kong and Macao, with plans to open five outlets in the DC area through 2012. Further expansion to Canada, Japan and Australia isn’t far off, according to the company.

“疯狂汉堡”连锁店最初是在美国一家汉堡包连锁店“强尼火箭”的启发下，于1998年在韩国首度开张的。“疯狂汉堡”自从开张以后，生意很不错，目前在韩国各地拥有100多家分店。公司最近还扩展到新加坡、香港和澳门，并且计划在明年年底之前，在美国首都华盛顿地区开设五家分店。与此同时，“疯狂汉堡”还有计划在加拿大、日本、以及澳大利亚开设分店。

One patron, Terra Hollander, a Korean-American now living in Bethesda, said she was familiar with Kraze before it opened near her and thought it could do well in the U.S.

霍兰德是住在马里兰州伯赛斯塔的一位韩裔美国人。她说，在伯赛斯塔的这家分店开张以前，她就比较熟悉“疯狂汉堡”，在她看来，“疯狂汉堡”在美国也会成功的。

“I think it’s very different from American hamburgers,” she said. “It’s less greasy, and I think the ingredients are more healthy.”

她说：“我认为，‘疯狂汉堡’实际上和美式汉堡很不同；不那么油，而且用料也都比较健康。”

Another customer, Gail Kauffman of Bethesda, called Kraze “bright, cheery and delicious.”

考芙曼是伯赛斯塔当地的一位住户。她说，“疯狂汉堡”味道很不错，而且还很“亮丽”。

There are some differences between the Korean and American versions of Kraze. The biggest, perhaps, is the “My Burger” offering which allows customers to build their own burger. Americans demand choices, whether it be in the cars they buy or the hamburgers they eat. And so far, "My Burger" accounts for 70 percent of sales at the Bethesda store. Korea has a pared down version of the concept, but it only makes up about five percent of sales there.

“疯狂汉堡”的美国版和韩国版还有一些不同。在美国分店里卖的汉堡种类里面，有“我的汉堡”这一选项，顾客可以任意选择用料；原因大概是美国人喜欢选择比较多，不管是买汽车、还是吃汉堡。到目前为止，在伯赛斯塔这家分店卖出的汉堡里面，有70%都是自制汉堡这一类的。在韩国，也有自制汉堡这一选项，但是，在那里，自制汉堡的销售，只占总销售量的5%。