The chefs in Wuhan have strange temperaments; they only serve one dish in ten years

Origin: Unable to cook various dishes, he decided to prepare just one dish, and he has been doing so for 10 years. In Wuhan’s food industry, the name Da Sheng Jia is well-known to almost everyone; however, few people are aware of the name of its founder, Sun Changsheng. Because the founder’s personality is indeed a bit “eccentric”. He doesn’t like socializing, going out to learn new things, and he has no great ambition to open a shop; he also dislikes talking much with strangers. Whenever he has time, he prefers to spend the whole day in the kitchen, experimenting with various ways of preparing turtles. In 2008, a chance encounter changed Sun Changsheng’s fate. While on business in Yichang, he discovered that the locals had a particular fondness for tortoises; in fact, there was a whole street in the area filled with various tortoise shops, all of which were doing very well. Upon seeing this scene, Sun Changsheng became interested; he thought that Wuhan and Yichang were not very far apart, so there should not be too much difference in their dietary habits. Moreover, since ancient times, people in the south have had the habit of eating tortoises. There is no need to emphasize their nourishing properties; they have not become a common dish because tortoises have always been considered premium ingredients, with high prices, and are generally only available at banquets. ? As soon as he returned to Wuhan, Sun Changsheng opened a store right away; in a very remote location, he opened the first Dasha Jingjia store. As for why he focuses on just one dish, he’s not as enthusiastic about it as people claim; he didn’t have any idea of creating a hit product 10 years ago, nor did he understand the concept of focusing on one thing. It’s simply because he started out as a server and didn’t know much about products. His thinking was that while others spent time working on ten or twenty different dishes, by focusing on just one dish, his chances of doing it well would be higher, and it would also be easier to manage. That’s how this restaurant with its single dish came into being. At that time, there were no specialized turtle restaurants in Wuhan’s food service industry; after a period of development, Dasheng Turtle quickly became popular, which in turn boosted the popularity of turtles as a whole food category.

It’s easy to keep a dish hot for a few months or even a year, but to maintain that heat for 10 years, to ensure that customers never get tired of it, to have them waiting for it every night after those 10 years, and even to make it a part of a city’s culinary memory – that is truly difficult. It is said that one’s character determines the kind of company they will build, and this saying applies perfectly to Sun Changsheng – as he himself is a \"unique person,\" his approach to running a business also has its quirks. Yet it is precisely these quirks that have made Dasha Jingjia the most distinctive store in the Wuhan area.

The first problem: not clustering together, choosing locations far from food and beverage areas. Many competitors prefer to locate their businesses on streets with many restaurants, so that when customers visit those shops, they can also stop by their own stores as well. Although it’s possible to open stores in large shopping malls, Sun Changsheng doesn’t like to open shops in clusters; he even tries to avoid areas dedicated to restaurants. Why is that? He said, “I think customers only find food delicious when they’re hungry. If they eat something from another place first because they’re hungry, and then eat our turtles, the taste will be diminished. That’s why we prefer to open in a remote location rather than operating alongside other businesses.” ” The second oddity: they don’t sell alcohol or provide employee meals, leaving that business to the neighbors. For restaurants that host gatherings, alcohol generates high gross profits, which is why almost all of them sell it. Restaurant owners go to great lengths when it comes to choosing drinks and sales tactics, fearing they won’t sell enough of them. Yet, both branches of Dasha Jingjia do not sell alcohol at all. Why is this the case? Sun Changsheng said: Customers come here to eat turtles, and if we want to prepare the turtles well, we need to be dedicated and focused. If you try to sell alcohol or other products, it will inevitably distract us from focusing our efforts on other things. In that case, it’s better to let someone else earn that money – for example, give it to the cigarette shop next door or to the landlord who rents us the property. If relationships with the neighbors are good, business will thrive naturally, and the landlord will be reluctant to raise the rent. Not only do we not sell alcohol, but we are also the first restaurant in the Wuhan area that does not prepare meals for its employees. We outsource the staff meals, with a cost of 12 yuan per person per meal; this is done so that we can focus more on delivering high-quality food service. Although it will increase our costs, I think it’s worth it if it helps us do well in our main business. One shouldn’t be too greedy and try to have everything; it’s already difficult enough to do one thing well at a time.

The third oddity: they refuse to make money on things that shouldn’t generate revenue, offering drinks and tissues to customers for free – soy milk, drinks, tissues, snacks… It’s already strange enough that they don’t sell alcohol, but Da Sheng Jia also gives away free those products that are charged for in other restaurants. Isn’t it a great deal to do this? Deep down, Sun Changsheng might not be a qualified businessman, or rather, he isn’t someone with great ambitions in business. He says, \"We are in the food and beverage industry; the better our business does, the more generous we should be. Customers already spend hundreds of yuan per person when they come here. If you try to charge them more for things like tissues, tableware, or drinks, how can they feel comfortable? If they’re not happy, will they come back to spend money again?\" Although charging for tableware, tissues, and drinks does help us earn more money, it hurts the customers’ feelings. Why are we willing to pay commissions to platforms and spend a fortune on various media channels, but not willing to pass those savings on to our customers? Therefore, from the moment we founded Dashaojia, we decided that our store would not offer discounts, promotions, or be listed on any platforms. We wanted to use the money saved to benefit our customers, giving them genuine value rather than putting things in the wrong order. ? Fourth oddity: Customers are not allowed to cut in line; 2 security guards are hired to maintain order. “In the past, at our first store, Da Sheng Jia, the store was small and there were many people waiting, so it was common for fights to break out among customers over who could get in line first. We found this very embarrassing. So, when we opened our second store, we not only hired 2 professional security guards to maintain order, but we also placed a small blackboard at the front desk on which the sales situation and queue lengths were clearly displayed. In the era of intelligent dining services, various cash register software solutions have emerged one after another. Many people think that using a small blackboard is an inefficient method – why use a blackboard at all? In fact, one purpose of using it is to allow customers to see clearly their waiting status, which helps them feel at ease. Another purpose is to remind our staff that customers are waiting patiently, and that they should not be allowed to cut in line due to any kind of relationship; we have no right to treat customers unfairly. ”

There are very few things in life that one can stick to for ten years~~~ other than eating, drinking, sleeping, and going to the bathroom~~

Impressive:victory:

In many places, this dish is prepared as a specialty of high quality