China Overseas Chinese Network, January 11, title: In the cold winter of the epidemic, how can the overseas Chinese restaurant industry "sustain"?

　　"The epidemic has repeated again and again, and we will lose money every day. It is really unsustainable." A few days ago, Li Biao, the owner of the last large Chinese restaurant in San Francisco Chinatown, announced the closure of the restaurant. This restaurant has a history of 100 years and can accommodate thousands of people. In the end, the old restaurant did not survive the impact of the epidemic.

"Kangnian Seafood Restaurant" is a century-old restaurant.

(Photo by Li Han, World Journal, USA)

　　"Kangnian Seafood Restaurant" is one of the few large restaurants in Chinatown that can hold large-scale banquets, and it is also a fixed place for overseas Chinese groups and community banquets.

Li Biao said that although he was reluctant to give up, the monthly rent, insurance and other expenses made Kang Nian, who was hit by the epidemic, overwhelmed and had to close his business.

Overseas epidemic continues to spread, Chinese food practitioners are overwhelmed

　　At present, many countries have successively introduced more stringent lockdown measures due to the emergence of mutant new coronavirus infections, which has once again affected the overseas Chinese restaurant industry that has just "relaxed".

　　Chinese food practitioners are facing problems such as difficulty in developing dine-in meals, shortened operating hours, shrinking passenger flow, declining revenue, and racial discrimination. At the same time, they have to bear rent, utilities, gas, insurance, and taxes.

Due to numerous difficulties, some Chinese restaurants closed their doors.

Data map: On September 6, 2020, customers dine on the streets of Chinatown in San Francisco, USA.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Guanguan

　　"The most impacted Chinese restaurants in the United States are large dine-in restaurants, especially many of the cafeterias that have closed down." Zhu Tianhuo, honorary chairman of the American Chinese Food Alliance, said that the main dilemma of Chinese food at present is the sharp decline in income and continuous epidemic prevention policies. Changes have also made practitioners miserable.

Data map: On December 9, 2020, New York, USA ushered in the first snowfall of this winter. The outdoor dining "bubble house" in Bryant Park was covered with snow.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan

　　He said, for example, since December last year, Southern California began to implement a new round of home quarantine orders, outdoor dining was suspended, and the outdoor dining spaces built by Chinese restaurant owners with financial and material resources can only be idle now.

"Whenever new epidemic prevention measures are implemented, the catering industry bears the brunt."

　　“In Barcelona, ​​Spain, one-third of Chinese restaurants are currently closed, and almost all of them are at a loss when they are open.” said Zhou Jianhong, president of the Barcelona Qingtian Association. According to Catalonia’s epidemic prevention requirements, restaurants Dine-in meals can only be opened for two and a half hours a day, and the attendance rate must be controlled at 30%. Many restaurants simply choose to close.

Data map: On October 28, 2020, Madrid, Spain imposed a curfew to control the rebound of the new crown epidemic, and the Plaza Mayor was almost empty.

　　Austria is currently in the third round of ban, all restaurants can only open takeaway.

According to Zhu Maozuo, president of the Vienna Restaurant Association, there are nearly 1,500 Chinese-owned restaurants in Austria. During the epidemic, some large restaurants serving group meals have closed down. Most Chinese restaurants are struggling with government subsidies and support.

Chinese restaurant practitioners open their doors to change their strains to find a way out

　　In the face of tremendous pressure to survive, overseas Chinese food companies are actively responding to find a way out. For example, restaurants that originally only operated dine-in have opened up online business, tried online ordering and takeaway food delivery, and at the same time, they used scan code to order, online payment, and robots. A series of new service modes such as food delivery and setting up isolated seats make the indoor dining environment safer and more assured.

　　According to Wei Chaohe, chairman of the China-Britain Federation of Industry and Commerce in London, the United Kingdom recently passed the third "city closure" order.

"Practitioners of Chinese food generally report that there are too many takeaway orders to take, and they can only stop taking orders during dinner. Because of insufficient staff, many bosses go out to deliver food."

　　Talking about why Chinese food delivery is so popular, Wei Chaohe said that many dishes such as French and Italian food are not suitable for delivery because they are not tasty when delivered. Some Chinese foods are easy to pack and taste good during delivery. It is not easy to change, so it is very popular.

Data map: In March 2020, London's "Chinatown" closed its doors and there was no one on the street.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Ping

　　Wei Chaohe said that in order to solve the difficulties of Chinese catering industry in recruiting workers, the China-Britain Federation of Industry and Commerce has established a recruitment platform and carried out training on the production of takeaway dishes and packaging improvement to help everyone improve their takeaway business.

　　"There are many Chinese restaurants in the United States that switch to take-out food. They can not only deliver food to your door, but can even'deliver a banquet to your door' to serve small family gatherings." Zhu Tianhuo suggested that practitioners can fully develop online food delivery business, which is difficult to overcome. The best way of the time, as long as we try to maintain a balance of payments now, we can hope to survive the epidemic.

Data map: Outdoor dining is closed in Los Angeles County, California, but takeaway is allowed.

(Photo by Yang Qing, World Journal, USA)

　　After trial and exploration during the epidemic, many Chinese restaurants in Spain have established mature online businesses.

Zhou Jianhong said that some Chinese restaurants have also developed special set meals, including some new dishes suitable for takeaway and remote delivery.

"Takeaway must not only deliver the food on time, but also ensure the color and fragrance of the dishes. This is what Chinese food industry operators have to work hard on."

　　Some large-scale Chinese restaurants, buffets, etc. are experiencing difficulties in the transformation of food delivery. Zhu Maozuo suggested that such restaurants should focus on improving services and upgrading dishes.

　　He cited his own restaurant as an example, “I opened a new store three years ago, and I used QR codes to order food. Two years ago, I introduced a robot to deliver food. I didn’t expect it to be of great use during the epidemic. The restaurant traffic has not fallen but has increased. Compared with the same period last year, it has also increased by about 30%. One of the secrets is the contactless service powered by new technology."

The hero restaurant run by Zhu Maozuo uses robots to deliver meals.

(Photo provided by interviewee)

　　Zhu Maozuo said that some large Austrian restaurants are exploring transformation. On the one hand, they are promoting various contactless services such as scanning codes and ordering meals. On the other hand, they use this time to delve into new dishes and prepare for reopening after the blockade is lifted. .

　　(Reference: China News, China Overseas Chinese network, Xinhua; Author: Wu Kan; ID: qiaowangzhongguo)