Rolling to Success

By Jun Wang

Wok & Roll

Location: 3600 Presidential Blvd Ste 203, Austin, TX 78719-2365
Phone: 512-530-3700
Offers: Fast Food, Grab & Take-out    
Cuisine: Americanized Chinese Cuisine
Signature Dishes: General Tso’s Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken, Beef w. Broccoli, Teriyaki Chicken, Curry Chicken
Year of Establishment: 1999

Wok & Roll is a national Chinese food chain which has found success by serving delicious food in airports and malls. One Wok & Roll is located in Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Wok & Roll moved into the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport just after it was founded eleven years ago. Due to intense competition, owner Iris Ren knew she had to work to differentiate her restaurant. The limited space in the food court inspired Iris to implement a buffet concept instead of going with a more traditional approach. She’s also gone ahead and added a twist to the mini-buffet concept—charging for food by the pound.

“We inform the customers in advance that we weigh the food to determine how much the bill will be. By doing that, we are able to make sure there isn’t any confusion.”

At $6.29 per pound, the offerings are worth the price. With 30 items, the buffet includes appetizers and popular entrees which can be ordered separately. These entrees include Chicken with Broccoli ($7.99), General Tso’s Chicken ($7.99), Kung Pao Chicken ($7.99) and assorted vegetables. If you are a bit hungry and don’t feel like eating airplane food, consider stopping by Wok n’ Roll so that you can buy some food to carry on to the flight.

The menu, which revolves around Chinese fast food, is packed with nutritious fare at a price everyone can afford. “Customers are more aware of their health,” Iris says adding, “We make sure to provide the type of healthy dishes they are looking for while making sure to keep prices reasonable.”

Food quality has always been a major concern across the US; many states have issued legislation with the goal of pushing restaurant owners to make their offerings healthier. Iris entered the restaurant industry knowing that she’d have to place a big emphasis on healthy and tasty offerings. The General Tso’s Chicken, Chicken with Broccoli, Kung Pao Chicken, and Beef with Broccoli have been proved healthy through an intensive analysis of their nutritional contents, including fat content and calorie count, by Healthy Dining, a professional nutrition analysis corporation at the forefront of the healthy dining initiative.

“My goal no matter what is to provide customers with the best quality offerings possible,” says Iris.
 
She makes sure all the ingredients used in the restaurants offerings are as fresh as can be. Every morning, she goes to the market to buy produce. With over 15 years of experience she is able to pick out only the freshest and quality produce. Occasionally, Iris will pick some grapes, strawberries and some seasonal ingredients when they are fresh and available. The infusion of new flavors adds a new taste element to the buffet bar, providing customers with even more choices.

Iris is always looking for new inspiration. She keeps up-to-date on what is going on in the industry, holds discussions with chefs about the menu, and also takes them to dine at other well-known restaurants so that they can learn about the newest culinary trends. By doing so, the chefs at Wok & Roll can better dream up new offerings.

Talking about her creations, Iris is very glad to introduce her own take on McDonald’s Caesar Salad— one of a kind Chinese style Caesar salad. Mixing together cabbage, onion, carrot, shredded parsley, and peanuts, this fresh and yummy blend of vegetables is later flavored with sesame seeds, sugar, vinegar, and salt.

The innovation never ends. You will see new mini-buffet bar selections every once in awhile, a result of staff brainstorming sessions. Wok & Roll has also extended its range to cover a wide array of ethnic concepts. However, the focus is still on Chinese cuisine. Basil Chicken and Curry Chicken are in the Thai foods category, while Teriyaki Chicken is Japanese style. The chefs have even put a Mexican spin on the ethnic dishes by adding jalapenos. One such dish is Beef Cilantro Pepper Sauce ($8.59). 

“It is really a great challenge for me, different customers have different demands. I had no idea how to cater to the market in the beginning.” says Iris. “But luckily I went through the sales records, analyzed each order, and then made my decisions based on the data.”

Customers from Everywhere
Iris has an understanding of customer preferences. She pointed out that some of Wok & Roll’s customers are airport staff and air crew members, while the remainder are airline passengers from all the world. “We look to serve food that will appeal to everyone without being unoriginal,” she says. “It’s a challenge to satisfy such a wide range of people but so far we are doing pretty well.”

The restaurant menu board lists each menu item and matches it with a detailed picture. Having a menu board enables customers to find what they want quickly. Instead of flipping through a menu, customers can just look up at the prominently displayed menu board to select what they want. There isn’t a huge range of dishes available but customers looking for alternatives can search for them at the buffet. If they still can’t figure out what they want, the cashier is happy to recommend dishes based on their preferences.

A Pleasing Interior
Wok & Roll’s interior reminds many of McDonalds. It is as clean as chain restaurants like KFC and McDonalds. Occupying a mere 800 square feet, there isn’t enough space for the restaurant to offer dine-in, but even so, the restaurant is kept spotless. 
 
While small, the restaurant is always packed with customers waiting to place orders. As the main courses are all made-to-order, the chef must prepare the orders as quickly as possible. On average, the customers receive their orders within five minutes.
Even being the only Chinese restaurant in the airport, Wok & Roll still has to deal with competition from the other restaurants in the food court. “To compete, we have to serve customers as fast as possible, that is why I chose the buffet format,” says Iris.

To further grow her business, Iris took the step of remodeling Wok & Roll and expanding the range of her offerings to also include sushi, hibachi, and beer.

Being friendly and easy-going allows her to get along really well with customers. “I like chatting with customers, and some of them become my friends. I always feel happy when I see how satisfied they are.”

Iris is looked up to by her two adorable daughters, Glory and Rayhan. The 23 year old Glory is now a graduate student majoring in Global Public Health, and Rayhan is now 15 years old and studying in a high school in Austin. Even with her busy schedule, Iris still spares enough time to take good care of her children, despite being busy running the restaurant.

“I’m very happy they are both smart and diligent,” says Iris, “all my efforts have paid off and it is their support that helps me to go further.”

Message from the Owner
Chinese cuisine has a long history and a profound meaning that can’t be properly interpreted through just a couple of dishes. Our restaurant offers a wide range of dishes from all around China while also endeavoring to boost the overall image of Chinese cuisine.