The first person who knocked on Lao Tan's door was Gu Yi. He had just returned from the renovation site and was still covered in dust. The next person who came in was Ya Ru. Knowing that Lao Tan hadn't eaten yet, he went to the Humble Administrator's Garden store to pack some food and bring it over.
After a while, Zhou Xiaomei entered the room, followed by Li Shuang and Xiao Gao.
Yaru arranged the food, but Gu Yi didn't eat it, so he sat down together. Zhou Xiaomei and the other two had finished eating, but they also took chopsticks and wine glasses, ready to drink some.
"Has the equipment been installed today?" Lao Tan asked Gu Yi.
"Well, install the equipment." Gu Yi said, throwing a dumpling into his mouth, and then said: "There is a buddy over in Hangzhou who is ready to cooperate. Come and have a look in two days."
"Oh, have you ever worked in catering?" Lao Tan asked.
"No, I used to do aquatic product wholesale." Gu Yi said.
"You have the strength?" Lao Tan asked.
"Well, it's quite capable. After hearing what he said, I'm going to open two stores at once to seize the market and not give others a chance to imitate." Gu Yi said.
Zhou Xiaomei said: "Nowadays, there are people who imitate our house. The decoration is almost the same as ours, and their names are similar. We call them Ah Qiao, and others call them Ah Sao. You can't tell them apart unless you look closely."
Li Shuang responded: "We Chinese can't do anything else well, so we are very good at counterfeiting."
"It's not called counterfeiting, it's imitation. Didn't you see that even clothes are now made with high imitations?" Lao Tan took a sip of wine and continued: "Any innovation starts with imitation. Without imitation, there is no innovation.
In addition, being imitated is also a good thing, it is like advertising in disguise, and customers will come back if they taste something different, deepening their impression."
Lao Tan's words were recognized, and Gu Yi said: "Just don't come to our house to pry. The core technology cannot be leaked."
Xiao Gao looked at Yaru and said, "As long as sister Yaru is not taken away."
Yaru joked: "Then you have to be nicer to me, so that I don't get angry and leave."
Gu Yi said half seriously and half jokingly: "Whether we are good to you or not depends on Lao Tan."
Lao Tan was a little embarrassed, and half of Yaru's face turned red. Li Shuang and Xiao Gao did not dare to laugh in front of the master, but they wanted to. Zhou Xiaomei did not have any scruples and held Yaru's hand affectionately.
"Ya Ru, please try your best while my aunt is not here. Don't worry, I won't report you."
Everyone laughed.
Lao Tan suddenly remembered Lin Yan's message, and couldn't help but feel sad. The smile on his face was a little stiff. But he recovered immediately and picked up his glass to drink with Gu Yi.
After several people finished eating and drinking, they left one after another. Yaru cleared the table, made tea for Lao Tan, walked to the door and paused for a moment, then turned around and asked half-heartedly: "You seem unhappy?"
"No." Lao Tan said.
"------Oh, it's okay if you're not unhappy. I'll go back if nothing happens."
"It's okay not to go back, my bed is big." Lao Tan joked.
Yaru smiled and said: "You are so beautiful——"
Since they were working in supermarkets, Lao Tan and Xiao Gao re-researched a set of recipes. While researching the recipes, the two of them ate in the food courts of five shopping malls, paying special attention to those well-known stores, and learned a lot of advanced concepts from them.
The restaurant that cooks well is definitely "Grandma's House". There are not many dishes, the prices are reasonable and the portions are affordable. The food is served quickly and customers like it. Every restaurant is full and there is a waiting list.
The colorful pickled fish is also very good, mainly because of its novel format. The large portion of pickled fish is made into small portions and served with a bowl of rice. Not only is it full but also delicious, with a long aftertaste.
Of course, the most popular are the spicy small restaurants, such as "Chuan Chuan Xiang", "Spicy Hotpot", "Spicy Shrimp", "Spicy Mix", "Spicy Hotpot", etc. Young people love to eat them, and every house is full.
It would be nice to wait for "donburi", "teppanyaki", "Japanese cuisine", "hot pot" and the like, but overall it's still inferior.
As for the dumpling family, Lao Tan was a little worried.
"Master, most of the people who go to the mall are young people, and what they eat is not a formal meal. They eat whatever they want. Our dumplings are too formal, so they probably won't be good." Xiao Gao was also worried.
Worry is nothing but worry. Once you have done something, you have to keep doing it and don’t give up halfway.
During the inspection, Lao Tan discovered that supermarket stores have three characteristics:
First, the form is novel and eye-catching. It includes three aspects. First, the store design is modern, cleverly conceived, in line with modern people's concepts, and has a sense of visual impact. Second, the product design is clever and unconventional. Third, the store name is direct, and you will think of it when you hear the name.
Desire to eat.
Second, we attach great importance to the dining experience of our guests. This may be something we learned from Haidilao, but it is also a trend. Only when guests feel at home and comfortable will they come back.
Third, there are various marketing models, absolutely in place and full of temptations.
It seems that supermarkets have moved ahead of social catering and are leading the trend.
Of course, there is no comparison between supermarket stores and social stores. They are two independent entities. Although they are associated with each other, the customers they face are all different and there is no conflict.
If traditional Chinese food wants to enter supermarkets, it needs to be improved and adapted, otherwise it will have to be eliminated.
During this period, through information given by friends in the catering industry, Lao Tan learned that Nanjing Little Chef had opened a supermarket store and the results were very good, so he planned to check it out.
Everyone knows about Little Chef Catering, a well-known catering company in Nanjing, an advocate of happy catering, and a promoter of Huaiyang cuisine. Lao Tan visited once before and agreed very much with their corporate culture and business philosophy, so he planned to bring Ah Qiao to the restaurant.
Also built like that.
This time I paid a second visit to the thatched cottage and learned from others about their experiences in supermarkets.
Going with him were Zhou Xiaomei and Xiao Gao, accompanied by Gu Yi. His purpose was to travel.
The black Land Rover exited the West Ring Road and took the Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway, then transferred to the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway and then onto the Shanghai-Chengdu Expressway.