酷兔英语


Shanghai's hygienebureau objected when Scott Minoie tried to build an open kitchen in his first Element Fresh restaurant nearly a decade ago, saying it would be unsightly: 'too foreign.'


十年前,乐华(Scott Minoie)试图在他第一间新元素(Element Fresh)餐厅建一个开放式厨房时,上海市卫生局提出了反对,说这样不美观:"太外国了"。



But the Boston native persuaded officials to let him press ahead, confident that Chinese consumers, concerned with food safety, would appreciate a Western-style bistro that lets diners see their laffa-bread salads and raspberry smoothies while they're being made.


但这位波士顿年轻人说服官员们让他继续自己的做法,他坚信关注食品安全的中国消费者会喜欢一间能让顾客看到地中海面包沙拉和桑梅奶昔制作过程的西餐厅。



Now he has a chain of 11 restaurants. Sales are on track to hit $30 million this year, up 40% from last year, according to Element Fresh's managing partner, Frank Rasche. The chain's profit margin hovered between 10% and 15% last year, he says. They plan to open around 40 more outlets in China by 2015.


如今他拥有11间连锁餐厅。据新元素餐厅执行合伙人拉希(Frank Rasche)说,今年餐厅的营业额有望达到3,000万美元,较上年增长40%。他说,连锁餐厅的利润率去年在10%到15%之间。他们计划在2015年之前在中国再开设大约40间餐厅。



Mr. Minoie's success contrasts with the experiences of a string of big Western restaurant chains that have failed here. Applebee's, Outback Steakhouse and California Pizza Kitchen, for example, have found that brand recognition and experience in other markets can get lost in translation in China.


与乐华的成功形成鲜明对比的是,西方许多大型连锁餐厅在中国都以失败告终。例如Applebee's、澳拜客牛排餐厅(Outback Steakhouse)和California Pizza Kitchen都发现,在其他市场的品牌认知度和经验转到中国时都行不通。



In addition to designing around the open kitchen, Mr. Minoie (pronounced MEN-oy) has focused on healthy food, kept a close eye on the local competition and trained waiters and waitresses along American lines.


除了围绕这间开放式厨房进行设计,乐华还把重点放在健康食品上,密切关注当地的竞争,并按照美国的方式培训侍应生。



'To succeed here, you have to look at people's habits and act as they would,' says the 38-year-old, who has scant restaurant experience outside this country. 'Chinese shoppers go to the market every day to buy fresh produce, this is an audience that can always taste the difference.'


乐华现年38岁,他在中国以外地区几乎没有餐厅方面的经验。他说,要在这里取得成功,就必须研究人们的习惯,并且入乡随俗;中国消费者每天都会去市场买新鲜的食材,他们总是能尝出其中的差别。



China's growing middle class of diners remains enticing to Western restaurateurs. The country's restaurant industry, including fast-food and sit-down restaurants, is smaller than that of the U.S. but growing faster. Restaurant revenue increased 16% to $340 billion in China last year, but rose just 1%, to $570 billion, in the U.S., according to U.S. consulting firm AlixPartners. In the U.S., some dining chains are struggling to keep afloat in the sluggisheconomy. Perkins & Marie Callender's Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcyprotection in June.


中国越来越庞大的中产阶级食客群体对西餐厅依然具有吸引力。包括快餐和堂食餐厅在内,中国餐饮行业的规模不及美国,但增长速度却更快。据美国咨询公司AlixPartners统计,中国去年的餐饮业收入增长了16%,达到3,400亿美元,但美国只增长了1%,总收入为5,700亿美元。在美国,有些连锁餐厅正在萧条的经济环境中艰难求生。美国餐厅Perkins & Marie Callender's Inc.今年6月申请了破产保护。



That means that some global chains are determined to operate in China despite past missteps.


这意味着,尽管过去有过挫败,但一些全球连锁餐厅依然决心在中国经营。



After four years of lackluster sales, California Pizza Kitchen Inc. closed its only restaurant in China, in Shanghai, last year, citing a franchise model that required the outlet to import many of its ingredients. That drove prices 20% higher than in the U.S. A Shanghai pizza had cost more than $20.


经过四年的生意低迷后,California Pizza Kitchen Inc.去年关闭了上海的餐厅,这是它在中国的唯一一家餐厅,原因是其特许经营模式需要进口许多原料。这导致价格比美国高出20%。上海餐厅的比萨价格超过20美元。



Company founders Richard Rosenfield and Larry Flax are taking a second shot. In January they opened a new restaurant in Shanghai, the first outlet they have owned in a chain that has more than 240 U.S. stores. Direct ownership gives them more control of day-to-day operations, such as staffing and sourcing, they say. Now the whole average bill in Shanghai, including alcohol, is $16.50.


公司创始人罗森富尔德(Richard Rosenfield)和弗莱克斯(Larry Flax)正再次进行尝试。1月,他们在上海开了一家新店。这是他们直接拥有的第一家门店,这家连锁企业在美国有240多家门店。他们说,直接所有权让他们对日常经营拥有更多的控制,比如人员配备和原材料采购等。目前在上海包括酒水在内的整单消费平均为16.5美元。



OSI Restaurant Partners LLC closed its two Outback Steakhouse restaurants in Beijing this May, having run out its decade-long lease and struggled to attract customers. The failure was the result of 'a partnership that did not work well,' says Steve Nilsen, vice president of marketing for Outback's international division. He declines to provide further details but says, 'China is still a market where we would like to expand in the future.'


OSI Restaurant Partners LLC在北京的两家澳拜客牛排餐厅由于十年的租约到期,加上难以吸引顾客,于今年5月关闭。该公司国际业务营销副总裁尼尔森(Steve Nilsen)说,失败是由于"一项合作进展不顺"。他拒绝提供进一步的细节,但他说,中国依然是我们将来希望开拓的一个市场。



At the Applebee's unit of DineEquity Inc., location was its undoing in China. Its sole restaurant in the country opened four years ago in a Shanghai shopping center