(Fighting against New Coronary Pneumonia) Global War Epidemic: Adherence to Adversity in Chinese Restaurants in San Francisco Bay Area
China News Agency, San Francisco, May 11 Question: Perseverance in the Adversity of Chinese Restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area
China News Service reporter Liu Guanguan
The Cupertino business district on the weekend should have been a very lively place.
In this business district in the hinterland of Silicon Valley, dozens of small shops such as restaurants, finance, and supermarkets are surrounded by several irregularly distributed buildings. Among them, Chinese restaurants occupy the majority of the catering industry. On weekdays, inside a dark glass door, specialty foods from all over China attract thousands of Chinese IT workers to find their hometown.
On the weekend of May 9th, the reporter saw that every entrance and exit of the business district was hung with the sign of "restaurants are open for take-out or self-collection". The messengers and diners wearing masks parked the car at the entrance of each store, and after getting the meal, drove away quickly. The bustling scene has disappeared for months.
Normally, the consumption of "return customers" in Chinese accounts for the "big head" of the turnover of these Chinese restaurants. And now, the orders on their mobile phones are helping many Chinese restaurants to survive this difficult early summer.
Ms. Wang from Liaoning and her partner opened the "Green Apple" restaurant 5 years ago. She admitted that the state of the restaurant now is "survival, just survive it."
In the early days of the outbreak, local residents flooded into supermarkets to "hoard goods", but many Chinese did not grab the living supplies. While expanding the "Takeaway" business, the restaurant began to help some old customers to purchase living materials, and then simply provide customers with procurement services three days a week.
The employees put together two long tables in the middle of the "Green Apple" restaurant. One of the long tables erected a transparent baffle, and the clerk and the food taker communicated across the baffle. The other long table was filled with rice, oil, salt, vegetables, eggs and raw meat. Ms. Wang and her partners quickly loaded different types of materials into cartons and sealed them with tape.
Ms. Wang said that because there are many take-out orders, it is inevitable that there will be mistakes. Even if the customer receives the wrong order, he will pay the full amount. In extraordinary times, the tolerance of old customers moved her.
"The cost of delivering these rice, oil and salt is very high and there is no profit." Ms. Wang said, "However, it is usually because of the help of these" return customers "that we are so hot. Now they need help, and we are obliged."
Like the "Green Apple", during the epidemic, "Yanyu", which is fully operated by Hubei Renmingfang, also began to deliver living materials to customers. Unlike ordinary restaurants, "Salt Language" was developed in Silicon Valley as a "central kitchen".
Ming Fangquan ’s kitchen is a 5-km drive from the Cupertino shopping district. In a kitchen of nearly 200 square meters, nearly 10 chefs are busy preparing their own food. Several other delivery staff moved the packed insulation bags to their respective vehicles and delivered them to nearby customers.
Ming Fangquan said that in the past, food delivery business for enterprises accounted for about 65% of the kitchen turnover. After the outbreak, the employees of major Silicon Valley companies "worked from home", this section of the business is gone. Mingfang immediately concentrated its employees on the food delivery business for individual customers. Businesses in this sector are growing rapidly, and full-time employees in the kitchen are able to continue to work.
Ming Fangquan told reporters that because his kitchen does not provide dine-in service, the operation mode has also changed in a timely manner. In addition, the production and distribution "integrated" solution has obvious advantages in price. The impact is not great. He said that 30% of customers ordered more than 13 times a month.
Recently, the new kitchen under renovation has become a problem that bothers Ming Fangquan. The area of the new kitchen is four times that of the current kitchen. Currently, renovations have been suspended, but the rent of $ 18,000 per month has to be paid. This disrupted the rhythm of his growing business.
The "whaT's More cake" dessert shop founded in Silicon Valley by two Chinese girls Trizia and Michelle was also disrupted by the epidemic.
On March 16, the day the San Francisco Bay Area announced the implementation of the "Home Order", they decided to close the store because "then felt that Americans did not pay attention to the epidemic." By the end of April, Americans also began to wear masks and maintain "social distance." They reopened business.
Every afternoon, customers will pick up their own cakes on the table outside the dessert shop, the two sides have no contact throughout the process. Michelle said: "These old customers are willing to take risks to buy cakes, but also take care of us."
In Foster City, the large Chinese restaurant "Yushi", which specializes in barbecue and hot pot, closed its doors on the same day as the dessert shop, but it has not yet reopened.
On the 9th, from time to time, a kayak passed by the wide water surface next to the "Yu Shi Hui", the sound of the paddle was clear and audible. Several seagulls fanned their wings and clamored on the simple restaurant roof. The harsh noise from the renovating gym on the opposite side set off the tranquility that this Chinese settlement should not have on weekends.
Yang Great Wall and his wife started the "Yu Shi Hui" four years ago. He said that the Chinese accounted for half of the total population of Foster City, which brought great popularity to the restaurant.
Yang Great Wall said that during the temporary closure of the store, the monthly rent of $ 35,000 must be paid. However, because of the size of the restaurant and the safety of themselves and their guests, they did not alleviate the dilemma through the take-out business. The proprietress Yanzi said: "Our county is growing dozens of cases every day, in case of" stroke ", there will be nothing."
Yang Great Wall estimates that one-third of the restaurants in the United States will never be able to open the door, and another one-third may have to close after the door is opened.
This view coincides with Yang Xuqun, who has operated "Halal Old Beijing" in San Francisco for 24 years.
Despite believing that the service industry will be hit hard and his restaurant turnover has dropped by 40%, Yang Xuqun said his family has seen optimism. "Just doing takeout and eliminating the need to eat in the dining room can save a lot of things, and it's not bad."
Yang Xuqun said that the biggest wish now is for the epidemic to pass early, and Chinese food can continue to flourish because "Chinese food is the fastest way for foreigners to understand China." (End)