Can the overseas Chinese restaurant industry survive the rebound of the epidemic? -Food squad

Catering boss must read the blue words above

The original text is reproduced from "China Overseas Chinese Network"

The new crown pneumonia epidemic that has swept the world has brought a lot of impact to the Chinese food industry in various places.

Recently, the epidemic situation in some countries has rebounded again. Facing such a difficult situation, overseas Chinese catering companies have actively responded to the dual test of epidemic prevention and resumption of work to find a way out.

Kuala Lumpur resumed business after the century-old "Chinatown" epidemic, hoping to face the challenge with a cultural brand.Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Yue

"Difficulty" is still the key word after repeated epidemics

The outbreak of the epidemic at the beginning of the year caused severe damage to the business of overseas Chinese restaurants, and the recent rebound of the epidemic in some countries has inevitably made the situation of Chinese restaurant operators even worse.

"I have been in the Chinese food industry in Spain for more than XNUMX years and have experienced many difficult times. This time can be said to be an unprecedented difficulty." Zhou Jianhong, president of the Qingtian Association of Barcelona, Spain, said that the recent rebound of the Spanish epidemic has hit the Chinese food industry once again and has been affected by passenger traffic. Many Chinese restaurants are still closed due to factors such as decline and rising raw material prices.

Yao Di, a manager of a Chinese restaurant in London, said that although the government's tax exemption and subsidy policy has brought a round of catering consumption, but the outbreak of the epidemic twice, the new lockdown policy has been implemented, and the outlook for the Chinese restaurant industry is bleak.Many local Chinese restaurants have closed due to difficulty in paying rent costs, strict urban control and insufficient passenger flow.His restaurant has also suffered heavy losses due to the epidemic. In the past, the restaurant’s revenue from "tourism group meals" for entertaining tourists every day during the holidays could reach 1000 pounds, but this year the business has all disappeared.

Yang Min, the owner of the New Zealand chain restaurant brand Jinwei Delanzhou Ramen, also said that after New Zealand was unblocked in May, restaurant business had already shown signs of recovery. However, in August, Auckland again "closed the city" and business entered a "winter".He said, “The current passenger flow in the store is only about 5% of that before the epidemic and it is difficult to recover in a short time.

The New Lianxiang Hotel, which has been operating in New York's Chinatown for 65 years, lost to the epidemic and closed its doors. (Photo by Yan Jiaying/World Journal, USA)

Chen Shanzhuang, president of the Chinese Catering Industry Association of the United States, said that many Chinese in the catering industry were forced to lose their jobs due to the epidemic. Although the local government provided assistance, most of the assistance was used for employee salaries, and a large number of restaurants were still unable to support cost burdens such as rent and land taxes. .

In Chinatowns in New York, Washington, D.C. and other places, many time-honored restaurants, such as "Xixi Roast Meat Restaurant", Fuchunlou Chinese Restaurant, and "Hao Wang Kok" Roast Meat Congee and Noodle Shop, have also been closed due to the epidemic. The restaurants opened have also closed down, and the Chinese restaurant industry is still in a difficult situation.

Seek change amidst difficulties, discover new opportunities

Under the huge pressure of survival, Qiu Xinqiu has become the common choice of overseas Chinese restaurant industry.

Feng Yan's hot pot restaurant opened in Jakarta, Indonesia for about eight months, and experienced two closures for epidemic prevention and control.In order to prevent dozens of employees from losing their jobs in the store, and to survive the restaurant, the restaurant launches take-out box lunches with different dishes every day, and also provides home-service hot pot takeaway.The restaurant has strictly implemented epidemic prevention measures in all aspects, and the volume of takeaway business has been increasing day by day. Feng Yan is confident to "survive" the epidemic.

Chinese catering companies in New Jersey, USA prepare for open dinning. (Photo by Xie Zheshu/World Journal, USA)

During the epidemic, in order to meet the needs of local Chinese-funded enterprises and overseas Chinese for Chinese food, and to minimize restaurant losses, Lu Yuejun, who runs a Huaiyang restaurant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, thought of his hometown of Yangzhou Baozi.He led chefs to make frozen buns and promoted them through mobile apps such as WeChat.This innovation soon succeeded, and the restaurant continued to receive "big orders" from Chinese companies in Pakistan.During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Lu Yuejun discovered that the epidemic had affected the import of mooncakes, and that there were few Soviet-style mooncakes in the area, so he made and promoted a variety of flavors of Soviet-style mooncake gift boxes, which were very popular.

Zhaofumen, a long-established Chinese restaurant in Yokohama, Japan, has turned its attention to food delivery robots, hoping to attract customers into the store.This "new employee" can drive automatically, avoid obstacles, give voice notifications when he arrives, and interact with customers' facial expressions.The person in charge said that Zhaofumen specializes in Hong Kong-style refreshments, and the food delivery robots are similar to those in the past Hong Kong-style tea restaurants, who walked around while chanting dim sum types.He said that the introduction of robots can not only enhance the sense of security and experience of guests dining, but also improve the efficiency of food delivery and save labor through AI technology.

He Jianfeng, chairman of the Chinese restaurant in Italy's Zhonghua Building, said that he took advantage of the opportunity of "free time" during the epidemic to research higher quality dishes.He believes that although Chinese food is very popular overseas, it has been difficult to get rid of stereotypes such as low-end and cheap for a long time. "Why turn this crisis into an opportunity, develop exquisite dishes, optimize the dining environment, and welcome the recovery of Chinese food with a new image. ."

Overcome difficulties together, warm compatriots and give back to society

Although the situation is difficult, overseas Chinese catering companies are actively helping themselves, and at the same time, they don't forget to give help to their compatriots and the local society as much as they can.

During the "closure" of Rome, Italy, overseas Chinese faced many inconveniences in their travel and purchases. "As the only Chinese restaurant that insists on delivering food after the city is closed, we have always insisted on delivering food to Chinese companies and overseas Chinese in Rome." He Jianfeng, secretary general of the Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Rome, Italy, said with a smile, and he did it himself. "Takeaway Brother" for a while.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese students from eight universities in the Boston area received a loving lunch from the "Chopsticks Le Xiangju" Chinese restaurant.Li Yinhua, the person in charge of the restaurant, said that during the epidemic, the restaurant was able to survive the difficulties with the strong support of international students and Chinese customers, hoping to give back to the society and bring "the taste of home" to the foreign students in foreign countries during the festival.In order to avoid centralized food collection, the restaurant cooperated with Panda Food Delivery Company to deliver lunch directly to the student dormitory or residence.

The Chinese restaurant in Barcelona, Spain, distributes Chinese food to overseas Chinese.Photo courtesy of Zhejiang Overseas Chinese Federation Meal Promotion Association

Although the situation is difficult, Yang Min, president of the Queenstown Chinese Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand, still insists on granting subsidies to each employee.In addition, he organized and participated in various activities, invited the mayor of Queenstown to have face-to-face exchanges with Chinese residents, and provided Chinese students with masks, disinfectants and other epidemic prevention materials. "It's not easy for everyone outside. In special times, we should help each other to tide over the difficulties together." Yang Min said.　　

Wei Chaohe, chairman of the China-Britain Federation of Industry and Commerce in London, United Kingdom, also did a lot of charity work during the epidemic: organizing the establishment of mutual aid groups for various industries and owners, building an anti-epidemic mutual aid information platform, and sending all kinds of epidemic prevention materials for free to local medical staff and Chinese owners. The international public welfare department builds a shared public welfare platform for the Chinese... "To unite is strong." Wei Chaohe said, hoping to provide help to compatriots within its power through his meager efforts.

Although the epidemic has caused an unprecedented blow to the catering industry, the industry has no lack of confidence when it comes to the long-term development prospects of overseas Chinese cuisine.

Feng Yan, who started operating the restaurant at the beginning of the year, said bluntly, “The epidemic will always pass and business will eventually recover.”

Zhu Maozuo, who has been engaged in the Chinese catering industry in Austria for more than XNUMX years, believes that “this crisis may be a turning point for the catering industry to stand out. I believe that the overseas Chinese catering industry will return to its previous prosperity.”

Xiaoqiao also believes that overseas Chinese catering businesses can definitely break through difficulties and seek vitality with their hard work and wisdom!

Source: Xinhuanet, Chinanews.com, China Overseas Chinese Network, "People's Daily", "World Journal", etc.

Editor: Zhao Jingzhu

About "North American Meal Exam News"

"North American Meal Exam News" is the sister number of the North American head gastronomy new media "Eating Food Team". It aims to serve North American Chinese food and beverage practitioners and is committed to building a professional service platform for the North American food and beverage industry. We hope to promote the two-way exchange of Chinese and American catering culture, support Chinese food to go overseas, and serve overseas brands in China.

Can the overseas Chinese restaurant industry survive the rebound of the epidemic?

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