China News Service, August 8. According to the US "World Journal" report, at present, the new crown pneumonia epidemic situation in the United States is slowing down, New York City is gradually returning to its original appearance, and the crowds on Main Street in Flushing are surging.

Many Chinese restaurants have resumed business.

Ms. Jiang, the owner of the old-fashioned Qingdao Hotel in Flushing, said, "At present, there are still many restaurants in Flushing that are open, but I don't know if they make money or not."

  She believes that American Chinese food is facing a difficult situation.

There are several reasons that affect the development of Chinese restaurants: people are reluctant to eat together, restaurant staff shortages, and rising prices of raw materials and fuel.

Some people in the catering industry in New York also listed other factors affecting the development of Chinese food, such as shortage of Chinese chefs, lack of authentic Chinese food ingredients, high fees on takeaway platforms, repeated new crown pneumonia epidemics, and restaurant recruitment difficulties.

Some professionals suggest that Chinese restaurants should follow the trend of the times and make full use of technological means to solve these problems in order to get out of the predicament.

  Ms. Jiang said that the epidemic has changed the Chinese restaurant industry in the United States, and Chinese restaurants after the epidemic are significantly different from those before the epidemic.

She pointed out that there are four main factors that affect the survival and development of the Chinese restaurant industry.

After the epidemic, there will be fewer meals with caution

  1. People are more alert and reluctant to have dinner together, which affects the restaurant's dine-in.

She said there are several tables in the Qingdao hotel for guests to dine in.

In the past, it was normal for diners to share tables, but now acquaintances can share tables, but strangers are reluctant to share tables.

Some people even called before the dinner to ask "how many people are there for dinner". If there are too many people, they will not come.

In the past, meals were placed in the middle of the table, and everyone sat around.

"Now, the meals are arranged in a buffet format, and guests are asked to pick up and sit separately."

  Second, the hotel staff is not easy to please.

She said that some people do not come to work after receiving unemployment benefits, and they are unwilling to work overtime when they come, thinking that "health is more important than everything."

"We pay 15 yuan per hour (US dollars, the same below), but some people are still reluctant to come." In the past, there were many air routes between the United States and China, and many Chinese held visit visas (B1/B2) and would stay to work after going to the United States. , earn some money and go back.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, air routes between the United States and China have been reduced, visitors have almost disappeared, and temporary workers have disappeared.

  3. The prices of many raw materials have doubled.

She has opened restaurants in the United States for more than 20 years, and she feels that prices have been stable and have not risen.

But now, unlike in the past, prices are often rising.

For example, edible oil used to be more than 20 yuan a barrel, but now it is 49 yuan a barrel.

Eggs used to cost 20 yuan a carton, but now they cost more than 60 yuan, and sometimes 90 yuan.

Chinese cabbage, tomatoes, eggplants, etc., the price has doubled.

  Fourth, fuel prices rose.

She said that cooking Chinese food requires an open flame and electricity and gas.

Now, these fuel prices have gone up.

She said that in the past 20 years, Qingdao Hotel's monthly electricity and gas bills have been more than 6,000 yuan, which is relatively stable.

However, electricity and gas bills are now more than 10,000 yuan per month, rising sharply.

  Mr. Cui, the owner of "Xiang Dang You Expect", a Chinese restaurant in Flushing, New York City, believes that American Chinese food is a major economic pillar of Chinese Americans.

However, he believes that the future decline of Chinese food in the United States is possible, mainly for the following reasons.

  1. There is a huge shortage of professional Chinese chefs.

He said that during the epidemic, because most Chinese restaurants were closed, many Chinese chefs lost their jobs, and most of their families were in China, so a large number of Chinese chefs returned to China.

"Nowadays, there are very few Chinese chefs, and it is even more difficult to find good Chinese chefs." In addition to chefs, other restaurant employees are also difficult to find, so the cost of supporting people in restaurants has increased.

  Second, authentic Chinese food ingredients are in short supply, and prices are rising.

He said many of his ingredients are shipped from Taiwan and the mainland.

Due to the Covid-19, shipping costs have been rising, so prices have risen.

  Third, the takeaway platform charges higher, which raises the price of the dishes.

Chinese food has always been good and cheap, but now things have changed, he said.

"Our Hunan restaurant has cooperated with several takeaway platforms in New York. The general feeling is that there are good and bad." He pointed out that the problem is that the takeaway platform takes a relatively high commission, reaching 20% ​​of the profit, and the commission of some large takeaway platforms is even higher than this. number.

  Fourth, the reduction of Chinese immigration has long affected the development of Chinese food.

He said that the guests of his Hunan restaurant are mainly Chinese, some from Hunan and some from non-Hunan. In short, they are all Chinese who like to eat spicy food.

However, it is now more difficult to immigrate to the United States, with fewer Chinese immigrants, which also has a negative impact on Chinese restaurants.

  Jiali, the manager of the Jincheng Restaurant in Flushing, said that the Jincheng Restaurant has been established for more than ten years.

In August 2018, the hotel's University Point store opened.

She said that the store has a large space and can hold 15 tables.

And, the wedding reception business has returned.

"Although there is business, there are no people to do it." She said that now she is most concerned about labor.

  She said that from the beginning of March 2020, the biggest problem facing the Chinese restaurant industry in the United States was the new crown pneumonia epidemic.

Jincheng Restaurant was closed in mid-March 2020 and did not resume work until June of that year.

People were afraid to come to work.

So, she tried to reduce the number of workers returning to work, and a few people did all the work.

"Inviting one more person means one more risk."

Industry hard-working chefs reduce

  She said that cooking Chinese food is too hard, not only heavy work, but also long hours.

"The current Chinese chefs all entered the industry from the 1970s to the 1990s." However, after 2000, few chefs entered the Chinese food industry, and no one wants to be a Chinese chef now.

"I estimate that in a few years, Chinese food in the United States may disappear."

  How to solve the problem of shortage of Chinese food talents?

Her suggestion is that there are two ways to address the talent shortage.

1. Increase income.

If the income is high, naturally some people are willing to enter the industry.

2. Improve the working environment.

Chinese restaurant workers work the same daily hours as any other industry.

"This is a real problem that has to be solved."

  Ann An, the owner of Knorr Food Court and Knorr Bakery in Flushing, New York City, felt the same way.

She said that the biggest difficulty for Farah Chung Restaurant now is not that there are too few customers, but that there are not enough workers and it is very troublesome to recruit.

Many people don't want to go to work because of the government's payments to the unemployed, she said.

At the same time, workers are demanding higher salaries, but their professionalism is not as strong as before.

  Business Wire partner Ivy said the challenge for Chinese restaurants right now is the lack of labor in restaurants.

She revealed that due to the difficulty of hiring workers, some restaurants have begun to use machine wok pans, while others are preparing to use robots and their company's smart products.

  Mr. Wang, a partner at Flushing's Royal Banquet, said that what he is most worried about is "the new crown pneumonia epidemic will come again".

He said the Cantonese restaurant had signed contracts as early as 2019 and will not open until March 2021.

He said the restaurant didn't make money when it first opened, and customers were too scared to come because of the repeated outbreaks.

Later, the restaurant business gradually improved, and now it has made money.

  The restaurant's guests are mainly from Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong.

To ensure safety, restaurants have particularly high hygiene requirements, he said.

In order to attract customers, the restaurant charges lower than the surrounding restaurants, and customers are more satisfied with this price.

He said they were able to lower prices mainly because they were buying cheaper seafood.

"We stocked with the East Dynasty Hotel. Due to the large quantity, the price is lower, and it is fresh." He said that the epidemic has had too much impact on Chinese restaurants in Flushing.

If the epidemic is controlled, there will be no major problems for Chinese restaurants in Flushing; if the epidemic cannot be controlled, the impact on Chinese restaurants will be great.

  The food court in Flushing, New York City, opened in December 2019.

Unfortunately, the new crown pneumonia epidemic occurred in the second month of opening.

Mr. Yu, a shareholder of Tianxia, ​​said he decided to convert the food court into a seafood buffet.

He said that the catering industry is more difficult now, mainly because of the high labor, materials and rent.

Wages are still more expensive

  The female manager of an old-fashioned Chinese restaurant in Flushing said that the biggest problem that Chinese restaurants encounter now is "price increases".

For example, she said, in the past two people went to her restaurant to eat, and they asked for three dishes, one soup and two bowls of rice.

However, if you want the same vegetable rice as before the epidemic, the price will be more than 80 yuan.

In this way, two people each have to pay more than 40 yuan.

  She said the price of the meal would be higher if tip was added.

"Although it is good for restaurants to charge more money, I still feel that the price is high, and I am worried that customers will not come next time." She said that now people's wages have not doubled, and the double price of meals in restaurants will affect people's ability to go to restaurants. will.

  Business Wire partner Ivy said previous restaurant founders were chefs.

"Be a chef yourself and ask an assistant to run the restaurant." Now the restaurant needs to transform.

She believes that the rise or fall of the economy has little to do with the rise and fall of the restaurant industry.

"Whether the economy is good or bad, people always have to eat." She said that if they don't keep up with the trend, restaurants will close.

  She said that the closing and reopening of restaurants are normal, and if they are open, they are related, and some are open.

Now, many restaurants do not know where they are located, but they are doing well.

"In some restaurants, there are so many customers that you have to queue." She said that this is mainly because the Internet has become popular now, and the reach of advertisements is also far-reaching.

"It used to be restaurants looking for customers, but now customers looking for restaurants."

  The newly opened restaurants have also changed a lot, and they are more intelligent and standardized.

The founders of the restaurants are also very different from the restaurateurs of the past.

Now the restaurants are opened by young people with education, and some even have MBA degrees.

They can't cook themselves, but they can run restaurants.

At the same time, restaurants are becoming more and more formal, and income must be taxed.

New Chinese restaurant is more authentic

  She said that the newly established Chinese food is becoming more and more authentic, close to the original taste of Chinese food.

Moreover, Chinese food is also paying more and more attention to the overall packaging of restaurants.

She said that in the past, when starting a Chinese restaurant, it was easy to make signs, menus, postings, and the Internet, but now she is very serious and pays attention to brand building.

"When the founder was looking for a place, he started to hire a professional design company to design."

  The National Restaurant Association released its 2022 State of the National Restaurant Industry Report on February 1, 2022.

The report argues that 2022 is still a transition year as the road to recovery continues, and that labor shortages will be the top concern for operators.

More than half of restaurant operators said it would take "a year or more" for restaurants to return to normal.

  According to the report, the sales of the catering service industry are expected to reach 898 billion yuan in 2022.

The workforce is expected to add 400,000 jobs, bringing total employment to 14.9 million by the end of 2022.

Food, labor and costs are expected to remain high and continue to weigh on restaurant profits in 2022.

Currently, there are several trends in the restaurant industry in the United States.

  1. Technology will facilitate outdoor dining.

During the coronavirus pandemic, restaurants have been unable to cope with off-site demand.

Eight out of 10 operators say the use of technology in restaurants provides a competitive advantage, and a significant percentage plan to invest more in technology this year.

In addition to back-office technology, many operators use their resources for online ordering, reservations and mobile payments.

  Second, the entire catering industry is facing labor shortages.

The restaurant and foodservice industry added 1.7 million jobs in 2021 and had a total workforce of 14.5 million at the end of last year, but restaurants remain severely understaffed, which will continue to limit industry growth in 2022.

Seven in 10 operators said their restaurants do not currently have enough staff to support guest demand and expect their labor shortages to continue into next year.

  3. Simplify menus, offer plant-based foods and sustainable packaging.

As immune-boosting foods and plant-based sandwiches top the top 10 trends for 2022, chefs will increase their offerings.

Operators continue to offer sustainable packaging options that preserve quality and temperature, which will dominate in 2022.

88% of adults (mostly millennials) say they would try to order a wider variety of takeout food as they would at a restaurant if the restaurant used food packaging that helped maintain the same temperature, taste and quality.

(Han Jie)