Getting to the Top of the Take-Out Industry

Take-out has been a mainstay of American life for a good quarter century. It has grown rapidly outside the main financial, cultural and industrial centers at an accelerated pace. This is why Chinese restaurateurs have expanded all over the country. This year, one of the nominees for the Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in the USA awards, captured our great interest. It's a small take-out shop named China House Express. In 2004, located at Lancaster Ave. in Wilmington, Delaware, the express shop opened its doors serving the local communities.

Difficult Start

Initially, Bing Lin had a rough time at the start of his business. He recalls, “At the beginning, everything is difficult but I overcame the hardships.” Formerly a restaurant manager in China, he worked at various American restaurants for seven years before opening China House Express. When talking about those early years, he said, “Initially I enjoyed the excitement of the early days, I had ambitious dreams. I also had a rough time, long hours when I worked as a waiter. What I want to share with you now are my stories about China House Express.” Those past experiences used to depress him and brought confusion to his mind as to his future direction. On a positive note being a waiter helped him to develop some excellent personality traits: confidence and industriousness.

“I experienced a lot in my life yet I also learned a lot. I will devote the rest of my life to China House Express, as well as to the promotion and recognition of Chinese cuisine in the United States.”

Secret Ingredients

As China Express is rooted in the local community, Mr. Lin understood his diverse customers’ preferences – taste wise. This enabled him to grow and prosper over the past years. The confluence of various ethnic groups includes Americans, Puerto Ricans, Poles, Italians, Hispanics and Chinese. Crispy Fried Banana is a hot-selling item loved by all customers, especially Puerto Ricans. Spanish customers are fond of seafood, especially Shrimp Stir-fried Rice or Shrimp with Broccoli. To ensure good taste and top quality, the cooks at China House Express are carefully selected. Each one has more then 10 years of cooking experience in the genre of Americanized Chinese cuisine.

China House Express has not escaped the mass movement towards healthier eating. They are no exception. They provide dishes that are cooked with little oil or salt and can be steamed or boiled upon request. A small plate or bag is served alongside the entrée for take-out.

Heartfelt Service

Keeping with his steady stream of people oriented actions is Mr. Lin's reservation in advance system. Customers are guaranteed to be served within 10 minutes of phoning in an order. For customers with special dietary requirements, all efforts are made to accommodate them. On holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, festive ornaments and decorations are placed in the restaurant to show camaraderie with his neighbors. Every New Year, Mr. Lin orders Chinese calendars to give away to his loyal customers. The owner is now in the process of hiring a tri-lingual Chinese, English and Spanish speaker to ensure that all communications are understood perfectly. Dishes are adjusted to meet the needs and tastes of customers while service comes in the myriad forms such as language, friendly gestures and speedy delivery.

Smart Pricing Strategy

After conducting detailed analysis of his competitors, owner Mr. Lin has set his standards and prices higher than similar themed eateries. He believes quality should be rewarded and price cutting can only damage a business. He purchases high quality ingredients including the best of various seasonings, in the hope of pleasing his customers with the freshness and tastiness of food.

“If our retail price was lower than the cost of our ingredients, the restaurant would be in the red. What is worse is that the more restaurants which reduce their price to increase customer traffic, the more customers expect low prices,” said Mr. Lin. He feels that would be unfair competition and he would not join in that race.

When asked about how he could survive in this economic downturn, with his trademark confidence he insisted that he would ride out the storm by just doing what they consistently do best: serving great food in a timely fashion, paying attention to customer needs and being part of the community at large.

China House Express