Chapter 540

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

The air conditioning temperature in the Western restaurant was very suitable; the hall constantly maintained the temperature most comfortable for the human body.

But the restaurant's air conditioning could not drive away the sweat continuously beading on the hall manager's forehead.

Facing Guo Mingyuan's questioning and the gloomy expression on his face, the hall manager dared not conceal anything and hurriedly stated the facts concisely: "B-Boss, the Lu Family Restaurant next door launched a new dish today; most of the customers coming to our restaurant are their old regulars, so... the customers were all drawn over there to queue up."

Just now, while he was notifying Yang Zhenguang and the two of them were discussing countermeasures, more customers left the restaurant.

And among them were some customers who were not originally diners at the Lu Family Restaurant.

Yet now, attracted by the bustle next door, they also went over to the Lu Family Restaurant and lined up.

"Launched a new dish? Is that something so rare?"

Guo Mingyuan let out a cold snort, frowned tightly, and said with a gloomy face: "Our restaurant is this luxurious, the service this attentive, yet we still can't compare to whatever new dish the place next door launched? What exactly are these people thinking?"

The more he spoke, the angrier he became; the high spirits from just now had vanished completely, leaving only the embarrassment of being harshly slapped in the face by reality.

Standing behind Guo Mingyuan, Zhou Li's face was pale; looking at the empty restaurant, her mind buzzed.

She could hardly believe the scene before her, her face full of disbelief.

You have to understand, when the restaurant's construction plan was originally formulated, she had analyzed in front of Guo Mingyuan that the Lu Family Restaurant was merely a temporarily viral internet-famous restaurant, fundamentally incapable of shaking their high-end restaurant's status.

But now, relying solely on a new dish, on their restaurant's very first day of business, the other side had forcibly drawn away almost the entire restaurant's customers.

Zhou Li felt she had underestimated the Lu Family Restaurant's influence far too much, and thought of things far too simply.

"General Manager Guo, don't be anxious just yet."

The hall manager stepped forward two steps, wiped the sweat from his face, and rattled off the remedial plan he had just discussed with Yang Zhenguang: "I've already arranged for a few waiters to change into plain clothes and pose as customers to queue up next door."

"That restaurant's food should be available for takeaway; once they buy the new dish back, have Master Chef Xi Xi appraise it, analyze the ingredients, heat control, and seasoning, so we can then adjust our dishes in a targeted way and launch a more competitive menu to win back customers."

After these words were spoken, the expression on Guo Mingyuan's face eased slightly.

After all, his restaurant still had a famous master chef holding the fort; he, who had seen big storms, naturally should have the ability to handle such an unexpected situation.

Seeing the boss's complexion improve, the hall manager also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

By now he had done everything he could; the rest was entirely up to the master chef and the person in charge; he just needed to follow their arrangements and do his own job well as instructed.

Guo Mingyuan fell silent for a moment, rubbed his slightly throbbing brow bone, and said in a very firm tone: "A solution must be produced as fast as possible! Today is our first day of business; if peers find out that our high-end restaurant can't even beat a roadside eatery, how will our brand establish itself in Jiangcheng from now on? How will Group Headquarters view our branch?"

His words made Zhou Li feel the pressure on her chest increase considerably; she hurriedly nodded in agreement: "General Manager Guo is right; we must race against time, we can't let the Lu Family Restaurant next door keep hogging the limelight."

"Okay, General Manager Guo, we will discuss a solution as soon as possible."

The hall manager bowed at the waist and replied in a very respectful tone.

He secretly glanced sideways at Executive Chef Yang Zhenguang beside him, only to see this internationally renowned high-end special chef still looking calm and composed, his expression like still water.

Seeing him act so composed, the hall manager's anxious heart slowly settled down.

He knew this executive chef was a high hand who had won many international culinary awards; faced with this situation, he definitely had a way to resolve it.

Guo Mingyuan turned his head to look at Yang Zhenguang, who had been silent all along, his tone carrying a hint of urgency: "Mr. Yang, this time we're counting entirely on you; our restaurant has been in preparation for so long, Group gave us considerable support, we absolutely cannot suffer such a huge setback on the very first day of business."

"Mm, General Manager Guo, rest assured."

Yang Zhenguang spoke slowly, his voice without any panic.

Seeing him so composed, Guo Mingyuan's taut nerves finally relaxed a bit; he waved at the management team behind him: "You all go back to the company with me for a meeting first; leave this place to Special Chef Yang to handle."

The management staff behind Guo Mingyuan hurriedly assented and quickly followed Guo Mingyuan out of the restaurant.

As the restaurant's direct person in charge, Zhou Li naturally stayed behind.

After Guo Mingyuan left, her complexion relaxed slightly, but her eyes still held anxiety.

Zhou Li walked up to Yang Zhenguang and cautiously probed: "Special Chef Yang, would you like to go personally to the restaurant next door to taste-test?"

"No need."

Yang Zhenguang shook his head upon hearing this, saying in a very definite tone: "The current situation, though indeed somewhat unexpected, is also normal; the situation actually isn't as serious as you imagine, nor is it an unsolvable major problem."

He paused, his gaze passing through the restaurant's glass window toward the Lu Family Restaurant next door, then continued analyzing: "That shop next door has been open on Food Street for a while now and has already accumulated a large batch of loyal regular customers; this Food Street was originally that chef Lu Feng's Zhu Chang — he has a foundation of customer base and reputation here."

"Our restaurant, as the latecomer, wanting right from the start to eat up the core customers that originally belonged to him, to snatch business from his hands, was inherently at a disadvantage."

"The reason those customers are now running next door to queue is nothing more than because he launched a new dish and they want a taste of novelty, plus they're more familiar with the flavor there, so this situation arose."

"But our advantages are obvious: we have a top-tier dining environment, a professional service team, and delicious high-end dishes; as long as those customers have dined at our restaurant and experienced this all-round upgrade in dining experience, they will naturally leave an extremely deep impression in their hearts; once the novelty of the new dish over there wears off, they will naturally come back."

Zhou Li listened to his analysis and her complexion looked much better, though the worry in her heart had not completely dissipated.