China Overseas Chinese Network, September 28. According to the "Chicago Chinese Forum" report, when the epidemic in Chicago was rampant and the economic recovery was slow, some new restaurants were opened in the local Chinatown. The all-vegetarian Chinese restaurant "Juyuanzhai" is one of them.
The boss, Zhao Jingyi, is even considering quitting her stable job in the hospital to start a restaurant full-time.
Zhao Jingyi said that she chose to open a restaurant at this time for many reasons.
One is that she has already signed a contract with the homeowner, and it is not appropriate to breach the contract; the other is that she is interested in protecting animals and the environment and wants more people to participate in vegetarian activities. The current situation is more necessary to promote healthy eating; third, she is confident As long as the dishes are exquisite, the disinfection and epidemic prevention are done well, and the service can satisfy the customers, it will be successful in the long run.
What is the business situation of "Juyuanzhai" since it opened for more than a month?
Zhao Jingyi said, not too good, but not too bad.
In Chicago, there are not many restaurants that offer all-vegetarian food. Her restaurants are good in color, flavor, and flavor. Many customers have a reputation, and some even drive more than 40 miles from the suburbs to eat.
A guest came to the restaurant for dinner six days a week, almost "using it as his home".
The praise of Chinese and foreign diners, and many foreign friends who came to Chinatown for vegetarian food... All this made her moved and proud.
Of course, there are many difficulties.
"Juyuanzhai" has a small indoor and outdoor space. The government stipulates that the number of people dining indoors should not exceed 25% of the total area, which will affect the increase in turnover.
In addition, many people have some hesitation when going out to eat, which may be difficult to eliminate for a while.
But Zhao Jingyi said that as long as you put in your hard work and persevere, "it will be good if you survive."
In Chicago’s Chinatown, some well-known old restaurants are also struggling against the trend.
The "Ming Xuan" Chinese restaurant, which has been doing good business, lost nearly half of its turnover due to the epidemic.
Since the end of June, the restaurant has opened up outdoor services with limited space.
They carefully arranged the environment, surrounded by bright flowers and plants, so that diners can not only enjoy delicious food, but also feel happy.
On the other hand, restaurants have strengthened their take-out services, using take-out companies to deliver meals, and restaurants have also allocated a certain amount of staff to provide take-out.
But the question is, what about outdoor services in winter?
In "Mingxuan", the store has set up five outdoor heaters, allowing guests to enjoy outdoor dining comfortably even when the weather is getting colder.
The store manager Mr. Zhu said, “This can at least extend the outdoor business hours before the arrival of severe winter. It is difficult to tell how long it can last, depending on the weather and the epidemic. However, our restaurant has a long history and has a certain strength basis. , You can persist."
Hu Xiaojun, a well-known “Old Sichuan” restaurant owner who has been committed to promoting and promoting Chinese food culture overseas for many years, said that although the epidemic is serious, business faces uncertainties.
But we must fulfill our promises to the landlord, to the guests and to the employees, and insist on operating as planned.
Thanks to our various efforts, the situation is better than expected.
Hu Xiaojun, the president of the American Chinese Culinary Association, said that the overseas Chinese catering industry is currently facing severe challenges. The epidemic and political environment are testing us, but as long as we strengthen the promotion of Chinese food, expand the delivery of food, improve the quality, and strive to improve the service, we will surely overcome all kinds of challenges. difficult.
When asked about the development prospects of the Chinese catering industry, Hu Xiaojun said that from the perspective of human history, no epidemic has ever defeated mankind, but mankind will eventually defeat any epidemic.
We believe that "man will conquer the sky."
He said: "We have always been deeply passionate about Chinese food and have a strong belief. After everyone's joint efforts, although there are a lot of temporary troubles, life will return to normal sooner or later. It is certain that Chinese food will flourish in various places. "Many Chinese and foreign customers praised the newly opened and the old Sichuan chain stores that have already opened, which made Hu Xiaojun believe that "Chinese food will be better tomorrow."
("Chicago Chinese Forum"/Photo by David Zhang)