Derek Cha, the founder of Sweet Frog, is a Korean-American entrepreneur who built the self-serve frozen yogurt chain from a single Richmond, Virginia, storefront in 2010 into a national franchise, sold the business in stages between 2015 and 2018, was convicted of domestic battery in a Fairfax County jury trial in 2019, and now runs a Nashville-style hot chicken franchise called Hangry Joe’s.
Building Sweet Frog in Richmond
Cha started Sweet Frog after his previous business, a chain of retail framing stores, collapsed in the housing downturn. He and his wife, Annah Kim, moved from Potomac, Maryland, to Richmond, where he worked as a courier while planning a comeback. Noticing that self-serve frozen yogurt had taken off in California but had almost no East Coast presence, they pivoted. A landlord fronted roughly $70,000 in tenant-improvement funds for the buildout, and Cha spent eight months developing the brand name, an acronym for “Fully Rely on God.”1Virginia Commonwealth University News. Sweet Frog Founder: Long-Term Goals and Hard Work Are Keys to Success2Richmond Magazine. Derek Cha
The first two shops opened in 2010 in Short Pump and Carytown. Growth was fast. By spring 2012 the chain had reached roughly 180 locations across 15 states, a mix of company-owned and independently licensed units, and Richmond-based Boxwood Capital Partners made a minority growth investment that April.2Richmond Magazine. Derek Cha3Boxwood Capital Partners. Boxwood Capital Partners Makes a Growth Capital Investment in Sweet Frog
Selling the Company
In February 2015, Boxwood acquired majority ownership of Sweet Frog Enterprises from Cha on undisclosed terms. Cha kept 15 of the company’s 348 stores, becoming the chain’s largest franchisee.4Greater Richmond Partnership. Chesterfield-Based Sweet Frog Sold to Private Equity Firm5Boxwood Capital Partners. Boxwood Capital Partners Acquires sweetFrog Enterprises LLC
On September 26, 2018, Canadian restaurant franchisor MTY Food Group completed its acquisition of substantially all Sweet Frog franchise assets for about $35 million, including $28.9 million in cash at closing, $2.6 million in assumed liabilities, and a $3.5 million holdback. The system at closing had 331 franchised or licensed restaurants, 323 of them in the United States.6MTY Group. sweetFrog Acquisition Closing As of early 2026, more than 250 Sweet Frog locations remain open across over 25 states and the Dominican Republic.7PR Newswire. Start 2026 on a Sweet Note With sweetFrog’s Orange Cream
Domestic Battery Conviction in Fairfax County
Fairfax County Police arrested Cha in late 2018 on domestic violence charges brought after his wife accused him of threatening her with a kitchen knife and strangling her. The case went to a jury trial. In late August 2019, jurors convicted Cha of domestic battery but found him not guilty on three more serious charges, including strangulation and attempted malicious wounding.8NBC Washington. Founder of Sweet Frog Yogurt Chain Convicted of Domestic Battery
He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, which the court considered already served because he had been held awaiting trial. Cha later called the stretch surrounding the arrest, conviction, and an accompanying divorce “rock bottom.”9Richmond BizSense. Richmond’s Former Frozen Yogurt King Dishes Up Hot Chicken Concept in Ashland
What He’s Doing Now
Between Sweet Frog and his current venture, Cha launched Zzaam!, a fast-casual Korean barbecue concept he described as a Chipotle-style Korean restaurant, with a target of 100 locations by 2020. It failed.1Virginia Commonwealth University News. Sweet Frog Founder: Long-Term Goals and Hard Work Are Keys to Success10WTVR CBS 6. Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken Opens
In May 2021, Cha and partner Mike Kim opened the first Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken in Ashland, Virginia, in a storefront that had previously housed one of his Sweet Frog shops.9Richmond BizSense. Richmond’s Former Frozen Yogurt King Dishes Up Hot Chicken Concept in Ashland Cha serves as co-founder and chief executive of the Nashville-style hot chicken chain, which had grown to 49 locations by September 2024.111851 Franchise. Hangry Joe’s Franchise Hot Chicken Deep Dive
Before Sweet Frog
Cha’s first business was a retail framing chain operating under two brands, Art and Frame Depot and Art and Frame Warehouse. Starting in the late 1980s, it grew to about 80 locations nationwide, and he settled his family in Potomac, Maryland. The housing downturn that began in 2006 and deepened in the 2008 financial crash wrecked demand. By 2009 only a handful of stores were open, none profitable. Cha stopped paying his mortgage, rented out the Maryland house, and moved to Richmond to start over.2Richmond Magazine. Derek Cha