Food: The super chef just wants to set up a stall leisurely

Chapter 168 My Old Path Reflects Their Rise and Fall

"A restaurant is a small but complete restaurant. It is quite complicated to run a good restaurant. First of all, you have to position it well. Are you going to sell to the working class, the peasant class, the middle class or higher? Selling to different people requires different locations, different services, decorations, and even different food preparation.

After deciding who to sell to, you also have to think about what kind of food to sell to these people to best cater to their tastes and consumption? Is it rice topped with gravy, stir-fried dishes, hot pot, or boxed lunches? Different types of food require different stores, and the difference between them is huge.

Not to mention the operation and updating of your restaurant, the efficiency from purchasing ingredients to processing and sales, and how to prepare dishes to minimize losses while allowing customers to eat fresh dishes, etc.

It may look like a small shop, but it is as complicated as running a business, and there are things to worry about everywhere.”

The diner on the right shook his head and sighed.

The customer on the left chuckled after hearing this. “You talk so conscientiously that if you don’t know me, you’d think you’re running a five-star hotel!

Girls, don't be fooled by him. He used to sell box lunches on Minzu Road. His business was OK at first, but as the street became more and more lively, his business went downhill and he closed down.

Don't be fooled by his eloquent words. You will end up ruining your business and you won't know how to run it!"

"What do you mean you're intimidated by me? I'm just sharing my experience of failure!" The diner on the right glared.

"Others are just starting out and need to work hard, but you are here imparting your experience of failure. Let's not talk about whether it is applicable or not. What if you pour too much cold water on them and the two girls are afraid to rush forward when they should?" the diner on the left raised his eyes and asked in return.

The diner on the right opened his mouth to refute, but after looking at the diner on the left for a long time, he didn't know what to say.

Zhao Xiaojing spoke at the right time, "The two uncles all mean well. They are willing to chat because they like the food in our shop. We have little experience, so we are willing to listen to your failure experiences or success encouragement."

"Yes, yes, what the two uncles said makes sense. Let's listen to it as a story. No matter success or failure, it's just idle chat. Uncle, you just said that there are more and more people on that street, but this uncle's store is not doing well. Why is that?" Su Yuchen asked with curious eyes.

Seeing that the two were interested, the diner on the right raised his eyebrows proudly at the person opposite him, "How about it, they are willing to listen to my experience of failure! This is not called pouring cold water, this is called using history as a mirror, my old path reflects their rise and fall!"

The diner on the left curled his lips and looked at the diner on the right and smiled, "Okay, I'm pouring cold water on you, please continue!"

Zhao Xiaojing and Su Yuchen looked at each other and smiled secretly at the same time. The diner on the right was satisfied, pushed the finished plate away and sat up straight.

“Although I didn’t understand why I opened the store, I gradually figured out why it closed over the years.

Why was it that my business started to go downhill and eventually closed down even though more and more people were coming to that street? I can tell you, I was really confused about this question for the past two years! I was thinking about it day and night, scratching my head!

But in the past two years, I have grown older, my son has a stable job, the family finances are not so tight, and I don’t need to work so hard anymore. After I calmed down, I came back to my senses.”

The diner on the right spoke vividly. Zhao Xiaojing and Su Yuchen listened with great interest while eating. Even the white rice tasted more fragrant than usual.

"I was only in my thirties when I opened the shop. At that time, there was a wave of layoffs. My wife and I were both working, but we were both laid off from the factory. I thought that even a stable job was unreliable, so why should we work for others? I might as well start my own business.

I was jealous of the dumpling vendors at the gate of our factory. They would set up their stalls for a while every evening, and workers would line up to eat after get off work. I discussed with my wife and decided to open a snack shop. She agreed, and the next day we set up a lunch stand at the gate of another factory.

This team worked hard for more than half a year, through wind and rain, and when the final accounts were settled, they actually made several thousand yuan!

At that time, my wife's brother happened to have a store, so my wife went to ask for his permission to rent the store to us, and then we officially started selling fast food. Although it was still boxed lunches, the price was raised by several yuan, and the business was still good.

The people and environment back then were different from what they are now. I can’t say my cooking skills are that good, and the taste can’t compare to yours.

But back then, when we went out to eat fast food, we just wanted to solve the meal problem quickly. Fresh food, filling food and cheap price were enough, so our restaurant has always followed this route.

As for the previous question, why did I go bankrupt after Minzu Street became really lively?

The reason lies in the positioning problem I just told you about.

At that time, our street was full of fast food, including rice noodles, dumplings, boxed lunches, and pancakes. People walked onto our street to eat. They didn’t ask for the food to be particularly delicious, as long as it was cheap, simple, convenient, and filled their stomachs. That was our positioning.

But after the street developed, the population became concentrated, people's lives improved, the people who moved around changed, and the demand for fast food also changed. Most people began to want to eat simple and not too expensive, but also good food.

At that time, some snack bars started to open on that street, and a few shops began to add other snacks to their usual menus. Later, barbecue restaurants, stir-fry restaurants, and hot pot restaurants were opened.

From that time on, my business gradually became worse and worse, until in the end I only had a few migrant workers to take care of the business every day, and I couldn’t even afford the rent.”

"Yes, I am one of the last few migrant workers left!" The diner on the left said to Zhao Xiaojing and the others with a smile.

"So that's how the two uncles knew each other. They used to be guests, and now they are friends." Zhao Xiaojing said in surprise.

The diner on the right smacked his lips and took two sips of the water that Su Yuchen had just poured. "That's right, he ate there when we first opened the restaurant. He was very poor at the time and only ordered the cheapest food. He looked skinny, and my wife felt sorry for him and secretly added meat to his lunch box every time!"

"Haha, at that time, the rice he served me was pressed and pressed again, so it was very solid. I ate it for several years, and then my life became better, and his shop was closed down.

When he told me that the restaurant was going to close, I was very sad for a while! Later, when he told me that the restaurant was reopening, I rode my bike for an hour and a half every day to eat there, haha." The diner on the left said with a smile.

"How was the store that uncle opened later?" Su Yuchen continued to ask.