China News Service, May 17. According to the US "World Journal" report, during the severe epidemic in Southern California, there were no dine-in restaurants, which led to many restaurants facing a cold winter. Behind the excitement is a bleak business operation. "Although there are many customers, they can't make ends meet."

Industry insiders pointedly pointed out that "Chinese restaurants are now facing a wave of closures, even more serious than in 2008."

　　Wang Tieniu, vice president of the American Chinese Restaurant Association, has been in the catering industry for more than 40 years. In April this year, he closed his last restaurant in Southern California, "At the most, I owned nine restaurants in Southern California, but in the past three years I've sold all these restaurants one after another."

　　Wang Tieniu's last restaurant is a well-known Sichuan restaurant, located in the bustling area of ​​Temple City, Los Angeles County. It opened in October last year at a cost of 150,000 renovations, but it has been in operation for less than half a year, and the restaurant officially closed on April 15.

Wang Tieniu sighed helplessly, "The current environment is very bad. I have worked in the industry for many years, and I have never encountered such a serious situation. It is several times more serious than in 2008. I am sure of this."

　　To outsiders, the business of this Sichuan restaurant is very hot every day. Why did it close down in just half a year?

Wang Tieniu said frankly: "The business is really good, but it is losing money." He analyzed that in the past, the cost of operating a restaurant's ingredients accounted for 30%, the salary of employees was 3.5%, the rent was 10%, and the remaining profit was about 20%; but now the cost of ingredients is about 20%. It rose to 4.5%, and 40% of labor. "In addition to the rent, the profit will be less than 50% in the end. It is impossible to do it at all, and it can only be closed."

　　Wang Tieniu believes that the speed of price increases since October last year is terrifying, and the impact on Chinese restaurants is even more serious than during the epidemic.

For example, the wholesale price of five gallons of edible oil used to be 12 yuan a barrel, but now it is 48 yuan a barrel, an increase of three or four times; about 20 pounds of eggs have risen from 16 yuan to 50 yuan; vegetables such as onions used to be five or six yuan a The bag has now skyrocketed to 30 yuan. "All prices have doubled, and delivery is limited. We can only take one box at a wholesale store every day, so we have to find multiple stores to buy."

　　In addition, the lack of staff is another big reason why restaurants are closing.

When the Sichuan restaurant opened, Wang Tieniu hired a Sichuan chef with a monthly salary of 5,500 yuan, but after working for a period of time, other restaurants poached the chef at a higher price. Many years old, and now hiring an experienced chef, but not very old, it is really more difficult than reaching the sky."

　　As the vice president of the American Chinese Restaurant Association, Wang Tieniu said that he hears complaints from his peers every day, mainly because employees are too hard to find. "No one cooks four or five thousand chefs a month, because truck drivers can earn more than ten thousand a month. Moreover, the working hours of chefs are long, and the loss of personnel in this industry is too great now, and the traditional Chinese taste will be less and less in Southern California in the future.”

　　In addition to Wang Tieniu's nine restaurants, some well-known Chinese restaurants familiar to the Chinese are also closing.

　　A signature Chinese restaurant in San Gabriel that has been in business for decades will officially close on July 1, according to people familiar with the matter.

The insider said, "This is a benchmark for a Chinese restaurant. The source of customers is mainly for mainland tourists who come to the United States. There are no tourists so far during the epidemic, and the business is not as good as before, so it has no choice but to close its doors."

　　A Chinese restaurant in San Gabriel also recently posted on social media that, given the continued rise in prices and labor under the epidemic, the restaurant has always been understaffed. The only choice is to close the store for a rest, mentioning that the last opening time is scheduled for May 25th, thank you for the customers and friends and family who have been supporting the store for many years, and hope to have the opportunity to serve you again in the future.

After the post was forwarded by Chinese on social media, many Chinese netizens left messages below expressing their sadness.

　　According to relevant data, there were about 54,000 Chinese restaurants in the United States in 2019, and two years after the epidemic, there were less than 40,000.

Wang Tieniu pointed out that the number of Chinese restaurants in the United States has dropped by about 23% recently, and traditional Chinese restaurants are rapidly losing. Only by changing their business models can they survive.

(Shao Min)