Welcome Building is 39 years old.
In 39 years, it has welcomed a different generation of guests: either light and simple, or in waves. But their demands are always similar: unchanging nostalgia and nostalgia.
Just one ice cream can take you back to the "coordinates" of your childhood. In 2019, after the "Ningxia Time-honored Brand Identification Committee", 21 brands such as Yingbin Building were selected as the first batch of "Ningxia Time-honored Brands".
In the sinking and floating merchant sea, the Yingbin Building is like a calm boat, which accumulates firmly and enriches the family foundation when the wind is downwind; it is not frightened when the wind is headwind, and it is lonely.
From "public" to corporate
In Jiefang West Street, Yinchuan City, people may not be able to say the specific house number of the Yingbin Building, which has a sense of age and is itself a road sign.
In the morning, the elderly gather outside the welcome building, lining up in a long line, just for the use of solid steamed buns and long cookies; in the afternoon and evening market, guests from all sides sat around a table, shabu-shabu lamb talking homely.
Many classic restaurants of the same period have become memories, but the Welcome Building not only survives in the nostalgic complex, but also retains its vitality.
"December 28, 1982," asked about the specific date of opening, blurted out from the old party who worked here when the welcome building was preparing. At that time, the Yinchuan City Catering Company drew elite soldiers from various restaurants such as Jingjinchun and Wuyi Restaurant, "Everyone has the heart to do a good job here, laying the foundation for the development of the Yingbin Building." ”
"When it opened, it was the size it is now, and at first it was state-run. Whether it is from the area or supporting facilities, it is one of the few high-end restaurants in Yinchuan. At that time, there was no concept of 'private rooms' (private rooms) in local catering, and there were 3 private seats when the welcome building opened. Lao Fang recalled, for example, that there were two large rows of electric fans on the second floor, which was high-end equipment at that time.
In the early days of opening, the second floor was dominated by Lu cuisine and dried seafood, and the east hall on the first floor was aimed at mass consumption, with breakfast, pasta and home cooking.
And the west hall on the first floor, what exactly do you do? There is no clear theme for a while. There is a master from Tianjin who will make ice cream, milk tofu and jellies. This has gradually formed the familiar 'changing season' menu of making cold drinks in summer and shabu lamb in winter.
Whether it is home cooking, or citizens' wedding banquets and business receptions, the Welcome Building is the "trendy" restaurant at that time.
With the reform and opening up, there are more and more restaurants on the street. Under the impact of local cuisines, what does the welcome building rely on to attract old customers? "We position ourselves as 'restaurants that the people can afford to eat', focusing on Ningxia raw materials and insisting on serving the tastes of Ningxia." The relevant person in charge of Yinchuan Yingbin Building Catering Co., Ltd. said.
In 1997, the State Council agreed with the Opinions of the former State Economic and Trade Commission on the Reform and Development of State-Owned Enterprises in 1997. In 1998, YingbinLou actively made preparations to start the reform of state-owned enterprises, realized that "workers have their shares", and changed its name from "Yingbinlou Halal Restaurant" to "Yingbinlou Catering Co., Ltd.".
"We must reform in order to have vitality, and this is an inevitable requirement for establishing a socialist market economic system." The person in charge said.
The restructuring of state-owned enterprises, from testing the waters to maturity, is a long process and a difficult exploration.
In 2008, Yingbin Building completed the second joint-stock system reform and moved towards a fully market-oriented business model.
In just a few years, the "face" of the Welcome Building has become more diverse. In 2009, the Xixia branch was opened; in 2010, an ice cream standardization factory was established in Helan County... Yingbin Building won the honors of "Ningxia Famous Catering Brand Loved and Trusted by the People" and "Chinese Famous Restaurant", and was selected as the first batch of "Ningxia Time-honored Brands".
The "secret recipe" without a secret recipe is the memory coordinates of old Yinchuan
"Every time I go back to my hometown, I have to come to the welcome building to eat." Qingming small long holiday, Ms. Yue, who returned to Yinchuan from other places, said.
It is not simple to make everyone feel "still the original taste".
"Ningxia people who came back from other places, the first time they came to our place, they ate the old taste. Over the years, we have repeatedly optimized and fixed the taste of the dishes, which has become famous all year round. Lao Fang said.
Yingbin Building insists on clear soup copper pot shabu-shabu, even if it is a small dipping sauce taste, it has been run-in for many years, improving the Beijing flavor, selling very well, and forming its own reputation in the "siege" of hot pot shops in the streets and alleys.
Competition has made more and more restaurants pursue big and complete, but the welcome building is not blindly followed. According to the concept of the Welcome Building: "First of all, you must keep the tradition." When you think of the welcome building, what comes to mind is the dish that should be adhered to. While preserving the characteristics, we can innovate appropriately. ”
In the past 40 years, the signature dishes of Yingbin Building, fragrant crispy chicken, yellow braised chicken, and sweet and sour fish, are all home-cooked dishes that have been popular for a long time.
Inheriting the classic taste inheritance requires focusing on cooking details and strict selection of ingredients, relying on the pure fire of the teacher, and also inseparable from the inheritance of craftsmanship.
The welcome building uses the method of "bringing the old to the new" to cope with the flow of personnel, and the old chef strictly teaches the skills of the newcomers, and checks the taste through layers of "tasting" to ensure that the traditional taste is not discounted.
The same goes for signature ice cream. Although a standardized cold drink factory has been opened, it has not given up its commitment to quality. "Now we still insist on making old noodle steamed buns, although the production is more cumbersome, but the people like it."
"Every company has a high and low (period), but conscience products are the best advertising." The person in charge said.
The Yingbin Building, which has been nearly confused for nearly a year, has passed the double test of time and the market, and has inherited the memories on the tip of the tongue of a generation in Ningxia. It is also observing the preferences of young people, and now the welcome floor menu, with ice cream sundae. In the future, Yingbin Building will continue to move steadily and far, hoping that it will not only be the memory of a generation, but also become the hometown "endorsement" of the new generation of Ningxia people. (Ningxia Daily reporter Mao Xuejiao Li Hui intern Su Jingjing text/photo)