"The best taste in southeast China and the most beautiful in the world" is a good description of Chinese cuisine - Huaiyang cuisine. Huaiyang cuisine has a long history, it began in the Spring and Autumn Period, flourished in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and was better than the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Regardless of the selection of materials, knife work, seasoning are meticulously crafted, pay attention to charm, and have a strong traditional Chinese cultural heritage. In Lanzhou, there is a century-old restaurant based on Huaiyang cuisine, which is the "Jingyang Lou" that generations of Lanzhou people talk about.
It's not a restaurant, it's a memory
"When my wife and I got a marriage license, we came to Jingyang Lou to celebrate, and when we ordered a squirrel fish, the taste can't be forgotten." Now that it comes again, the squirrel fish is still that smell, and when I see it, I think of when we were young. Mr. Dong, who is already a year old, recalled, "The wedding banquet of my son and grandson, the 100 days of my grandson, the birthday of my family, and the gathering of friends are all in Jingyang Lou, and the first place for me to recommend a place to eat is Jingyang Lou." ”
"Lion's head, eight treasure gourd chicken, ringing oil eel paste, squirrel fish, roast duck... These are the characteristics of Jingyang Lou, and it is inevitable that there will be happy events in the family to celebrate in Jingyang Lou, and these dishes are also ordered in a circle. The dishes here are peaceful in taste, fresh in the ingredients, fresh and slightly sweet, suitable for people of every age. Li Jun, who was receiving a friend, said that the dishes in Jingyang Lou were like a number of family treasures.
Ms. Zhang from Jiangnan ordered a lot of Jingyang Lou's specialties, "I like to eat This gang dish, I don't know how the practice and taste of Huaiyang cuisine will change in the northwest hinterland two thousand kilometers away? I'm looking forward to it. Ms. Zhang will taste each dish carefully and give a sincere evaluation, and finally she concludes: "Huaiyang cuisine can stand in the northwest hinterland for so many years is not without reason." ”
In the era when everything is changing, the only constant thing about Jingyang Lou is the familiar old taste. 80% of the guests who eat here are regular customers. Qu Tongxu, general manager of Lanzhou Jingyanglou Catering Co., Ltd., remembers that some people ate here when they were young men, and now they are middle-aged people in their 40s.
Everyone chose to dine in Jingyang Lou, not only for the sake of satiety, but also to remember that year. A brand with 119 years of historical and cultural heritage, I don't know how many newcomers have witnessed the marriage, and how many college entrance examination students have witnessed the title of the gold list, and also accompanied many children to grow up...
119 years of history has achieved long-established enterprises with temperature
As early as the twenty-eighth year of Guangxu (autumn 1902 AD), Wang Yufa, the imperial chef of the Qing Palace who was born in Yangzhou, founded the golden signboard of "Jingyang Lou" in Duozi Street (now Ganquan Road) west of Yuanmen Bridge in the downtown area of Yangzhou at that time, with the concept of "Jing Yi Wen Chuan, Wen Yi Jing Yang".
In 1958, in response to the call of the party and the state to "support the construction of the Great Northwest", Wang Shaoshan, the second generation of "Jingyang Lou", led the brothers Xiao Bukui, Yang Guilin and other senior chefs to relocate the Yangzhou "Jingyang Lou" main store to Lanzhou as a whole.
When he first arrived in the northwest, "Jingyang Lou" inevitably encountered many problems such as dry climate and single variety of raw materials, but it did not shake the belief that Wang Shaoshan and Yangzhou chefs wanted to give Lanzhou people an authentic Huaiyang dish, and soon "Jingyang Lou" stood out in many hotels in Jincheng.
In 1993, Qu Zhaoshu, a closed disciple of Wang Shaoshan, took over as the third generation of the "Jingyang Lou". Due to many factors such as system, management, history, etc., it was the most bleak day of the operation of "Jingyang Lou", and it was difficult for "Jingyang Lou" with a monthly turnover of less than 40,000 yuan to maintain the normal operation of the hotel. As soon as Qu Zhaoshu took office, he carried out a series of drastic reforms and innovations. The hotel's performance jumped from the original monthly turnover of less than 40,000 yuan to more than 800,000 yuan, which took only 8 months in between, you know, this seemed to be an astronomical amount that was impossible to achieve at the time, but Qu Zhaoshu did it.
A relocation is also a legacy
In August 2005, due to urban transformation, the "Jingyang Building" was demolished and the old site of No. 406 Jiuquan Road in Lanzhou City, which had been in operation for 48 years, was evacuated. Qu Tongxu recalled: "The relocation of Jingyang Building was a very big impact on my father. In the face of the unknown, does Jingyang Lou disappear or exist? My father once said, "The old brand is a component of the history and culture of a city, compared with the whole country, the old brand that can survive in Lanzhou is very rare, and this century-old brand cannot be destroyed in one fell swoop." In the end, the old man fought, with great financial pressure, and resolutely chose to continue to pass on the Jingyang Building. ”
In June 2006, with a total business area of more than 3,000 square meters and a total investment of about 22 million yuan, the "Jingyang Building" new makeup welcomed guests, and the antique Jiangnan architectural style attracted many citizens to stop and take pictures.
Si Wenhua is one of the veteran employees who witnessed this "grand situation", from 1993 to the work of "Jingyang Lou", Si Wenhua has been working in Jingyang Lou for 28 years. Thinking back to that year, Si Wenhua couldn't help but sigh: "Seeing the newly built Jingyang Building, I looked at the door for a long time before I walked into the store, which was really spectacular." During the opening period, there were many people, and every day was busy, but we all worked in an orderly manner, cooperated well, not chaotic at all, and the feeling of being in the old store suddenly returned. ”
Make the "old brand" refined and stronger
In 2007, Qu Tongxu, who had just graduated from university, entered the company and became the fourth generation of the head of "Jingyang Lou", which has been 14 years. Nowadays, as the general manager of Lanzhou Jingyanglou Catering Co., Ltd., how to make the old brand more vital and energetic is not an easy task.
Last year, the sudden outbreak of the new crown epidemic caused the catering industry to suffer heavy blows, when many catering enterprises suffered heavy losses due to the sudden cancellation of a large number of Chinese New Year's Eve meals after being stocked, Qu Tongxu turned "danger" into "opportunity" and minimized the loss of Jingyang Building. During the epidemic period, when community consumption was rapidly rising, Qu Tongxu led the long-established brands to join in, launched the online ordering delivery business, and deeply cultivated the community market, and finally the brand influence was significantly improved. "During the epidemic, you can eat at home, only Jingyang Lou is a family." Qu Tongxu's tone was full of pride.
"The long-established brand has the advantage of the brand, and has a unique advantage in making it stronger and stronger, developing and growing. It has immeasurable brand value, economic value and cultural value, and they carry excellent Chinese national culture. Let go of the obsession with the past, turn your attention from the past historical glory to the consumer market, the old brand to revive, to develop, as long as it captures the consumer psychology, it is much easier than a new brand. Qu Tongxu said.
If regular customers come to eat for the taste, how to attract new consumers? Qu Tongxu has his own opinion: "For consumers, the first thing they see when they enter a store is the environment. Now young people want not only to eat so simple, but also to feel. Then the elegant and comfortable environment can naturally attract new consumer groups. ”
In April last year, the "Jingyang Building" was closed for decoration, and Lanzhou citizens silently paid attention to the upgrading of the Jingyang Building. After half a year, with a capital of 14 million yuan, Jingyang Building reopened its doors with a new look in October, exuding new vitality from the inside out. From the style point of view, it highlights the Jiangnan elements, the appearance of the cornices is majestic, majestic and elegant, and the kitchen interior is also equipped with the most advanced equipment.
"Old" must have a foundation and vitality
The advantages and disadvantages of the old brand are that the old brand can still be operated after years of tempering, indicating the reliability of its quality and trustworthiness; the disadvantage is that in people's minds, the old brand means outdated and old soil. Then daring to step out of the historical aura and actively accept the challenges of the modern market is the first step that must be taken to seek a new long-established brand. A series of changes after Qu Tongxu took over Jingyang Lou were echoed in a set of data, "I did a questionnaire survey, and 65% of our customer base is 50 to 60 years old; through a series of new media marketing, the latest data in March this year shows that the customer base between the ages of 20 and 40 has increased by 30%. ”
Qu Tongxu has always insisted on making unique features in the cuisine, mainly highlighting the traditional Huaiyang cuisine. The menu has been reduced from 350 to 150 dishes. She said frankly: "We will make innovative adjustments in the color, shape and selection of dishes, in line with the current aesthetic and changes of the times." But in terms of taste, we have been looking for the original taste, and this has never changed. ”
At present, Jingyang Lou mainly promotes Huaiyang cuisine, but also Cantonese cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Long cuisine, etc., which can meet the needs of different customer groups. Qu Tongxu believes that the old brand must play a combination of fists, consolidate the old customers, attract new customers, in order to make the old brand more vital in the fierce market competition, "old" must have a foundation, have vitality.
Text/Photo Reporter Xuan Siyu