The century-old Taotaoju Beijing store opens in Sanlitun, bringing morning tea culture to Beijing

On November 1, Taotaoju, a time-honored Chinese brand with a history of more than 141 years, officially opened its first store in Beijing. This is the first time Taotaoju has entered the North China market after having established itself in Xiamen, Shenzhen, and Shanghai.

Yin Jiangbo, chairman of Taotaoju Catering Management Co., Ltd., said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from the Beijing News that when Taotaoju entered Beijing, it chose the same \”ordinary store\” positioning as its first store in Shanghai. . Yin Jiangbo is worried about whether Guangzhou’s morning tea culture will be “acclimated” to Beijing, but believes that “the market needs to be guided. We bring morning tea culture to Beijing and hope that Beijingers can experience and accept such a lifestyle. ”

Four sections of business from morning tea to evening market

Taotaoju was founded in the sixth year of Guangxu (1880). Kang Youwei personally inscribed a plaque for Taotaoju, which means \”Come here\” Drinking tea and having fun.\” Lu Xun, Ba Jin, Chen Canyun, Liu Haisu and other literati were guests at Taotaoju. The menu of Lu Xun\’s family banquet is still preserved, and it is known as \”the most culturally charming old teahouse\”.

The Beijing News reporter saw at Taotaoju Beijing’s first store in Taikoo Li West District, Sanlitun. The design of the store replicates the Xiguan House in Lingnan, integrating Manchurian windows, slatted doors, and flower steps. Bricks and other classic Lingnan architectural elements.

Yin Jiangbo, chairman of the Food Shang Tao Tao Ju Catering Management Co., Ltd., told the Beijing News reporter that when Tao Tao Ju came to Beijing, he maintained the same custom as Guangzhou of \”drinking morning tea in the morning, lunch at noon, and Hong Kong-style afternoon Tea, and then the evening market will open in four sections. He also admitted that this was \”the only thing he was worried about.\” This worry stems from the completely different lifestyles between the north and the south. \”Guangzhou Taotaoju has five sections of business. There is a \’morning market\’ before the morning market, which starts at 8 o\’clock. On weekdays, the elderly come to drink morning tea after doing morning exercises. On weekends, the whole family comes out to have breakfast and drink tea together, and the queues are always crowded. \”It is understood that the morning tea period at Taotaoju\’s first store in Beijing starts at 10 o\’clock every day.

Although he is worried about whether Guangzhou’s morning tea culture will not adapt to Beijing’s climate, Yin Jiangbo believes that Taotaoju is the representative of Guangzhou’s teahouses. There are also many Hong Kong-style teahouses and tea restaurants in Beijing. Some belong to the \”new school\”. \”I believe the market needs to be led. We have brought the morning tea culture to Beijing, and we hope that Beijingers can experience and accept such a lifestyle.\”

The price of the dishes is slightly higher in the Guangzhou store

Yin Jiangbo introduced that Cantonese cuisine requires very pure and fresh ingredients, and many dishes require 100% Cantonese ingredients. \”The first store in Beijing needs to explore which direction consumers prefer, whether it is Cantonese cuisine, barbecue or dim sum, so it has a richer variety of dishes than many stores in Guangzhou.\” From then on, it will make appropriate adjustments according to consumer needs.

At the same time, 90% of the kitchen technical force and service team of the first store in Beijing were selected and trained in Guangzhou. The material selection requirements, cooking techniques, and service standards are no different from those in Guangzhou. Among more than 120 employees, only 4 are in BeijingRecruitment, the rest are all old employees from various stores in Guangzhou, working in different places, and the wages are relatively high.

Therefore, Yin Jiangbo said that due to the superposition of ingredients and labor costs, the price of dishes at Taotaoju’s first Beijing store is slightly higher than that of the Guangzhou store, and is basically the same as that of the Shanghai store.

The Beijing News reporter saw on Dianping that the per capita consumption of Taotaoju Shanghai store ranges from 140 yuan to 160 yuan.

Not a franchise store

In 2019, after Taotaoju opened its first store in Shanghai, it opened four more stores in Shanghai. Including the new store in Beijing, Taotaoju currently has a total of 29 stores across the country. Regarding the store expansion plan in Beijing, Yin Jiangbo said that store expansion depends on market demand.

Like its first store in Shanghai, Taotaoju also chose to position itself as an ordinary store when entering Beijing. According to classification, Taotaoju is currently divided into multiple series such as ordinary, gold medal, high-end business brand Yayuan and banquet, as well as some special theme stores. Yin Jiangbo said that every time Taotaoju enters a city, it will first try and popularize it with \”ordinary stores\”, and then export other series based on the different needs of different customer groups.

National direct sales and freshly made in-store operations are Taotaoju’s current business model. Yin Jiangbo confirmed to a reporter from the Beijing News that Taotaoju “does not mass-produce and does not operate franchise stores.” “I don’t have plans to open many stores in a few years. Cantonese cuisine is different from other cuisines, and it is also different from fast food and hot pot. We will do one business stably before moving on to the next one.”

Beijing News reporter Wang Ping

Editor Qin Shengnan proofread Wei Zhuo