After the New Year, several shops did want to close down, including a fruit shop and a braised food shop.
The fruit shop is quite large, nearly forty square meters, and the rent is also high. The braised food shop, on the other hand, is much smaller, only five or six square meters.
Actually, for someone like Song Xia selling snacks, taking over that braised food shop would be the best option, as the rent is low and she wouldn't have to bear such high costs. However, Song Xia still prefers that fruit shop.
With a renovation, the kitchen will be much larger, and customers will have a place to sit and eat. We can also put in more freezers and steamers to sell soup in winter and cold dishes in summer.
The main advantage is that soups and cold dishes are easy to make. Once they're made, they can be left out, and when customers order, they can be served directly to the table, and they can still command a good price.
After careful consideration, Song Xia went to talk to the original fruit shop owner and landlord about the transfer fee and rent.
Although this is the old town, the rent is not cheap, nearly 10,000 yuan a month. Then there's the transfer fee of 100,000 yuan. Add to that the cost of renovation, equipment, and hiring two waiters, and Song Xia roughly estimated that opening this shop would conservatively cost 200,000 yuan.
Tsk, if it weren't for making some money in the stock market and having so many loyal customers, Song Xia really wouldn't be confident in keeping this store running smoothly.
Let's give it a shot. With a storefront, we can offer more products and extend our business hours. Compared to setting up a stall, the profits shouldn't be any worse.
The landlord seemed worried that she might have trouble making the business go badly and would have to transfer the lease again, so he proactively included a clause in the lease terms that the rent would not increase for three years, and that after three years, the maximum increase would not exceed six percent.
This is also because the business of physical stores has been really difficult in the past two years. It is better to rent them out than to leave them empty. For example, there is a 100-square-meter store on the next street. Because a landlord suddenly raised the rent too much, the owner got angry and refused to rent it. It has been empty for more than half a year now.
The other shops didn't raise their rents, but for various reasons, their businesses still couldn't keep going. Sometimes, they changed owners twice a year. With each change of tenants, the shops would be empty for a month or two.
Actually, Song Xia could have waited a while longer before renting the shop. Once the fruit shop owner started losing money on the rent, she could have saved on the transfer fee.
However, this street is more popular than the one next door, so what if someone else takes a liking to it? Besides, the landlord is very kind, so I might as well rent it.
After signing the contract, Song Xia began the renovation work. She directly contracted the renovation to a decoration company, not requiring it to be very luxurious, but only that it be clean, tidy, and fast.
As for tables, chairs, and kitchenware, she purchased them early at the home furnishing plaza in one stop, without interfering with her usual stall time. During the renovation period, thanks to her promotion, customers also learned that she had taken over the previous fruit shop.
"Boss, you've finally opened your shop! I've been looking forward to it. Now we'll have a place to sit and won't have to rush to eat on the go."
"Yes, I buy a fried rice after get off work in the evening, so I don't have to take it home. I always feel that freshly cooked fried rice tastes the best."
"Will there be many new products after the new store opens?"
"And you don't need to order takeout at lunchtime anymore, you can just come to your shop to eat."
Song Xia maintained a smile throughout: "New products will definitely be available. We'll be open 24/7, so please look forward to it."
Hearing that the store would be open 24/7, everyone got excited. There are many office workers around, and sometimes the businesses in the area do better business at lunchtime than in the morning or evening. If lunch is added, the turnover will definitely increase a lot.
"Boss, could you give us a hint about what new products we have?"
"Now that it's winter, we'll add some clay pot soup, and the snacks will include soup noodles and rice noodles. At noon, we'll also have rice with toppings, but since I'm the only chef, there won't be many varieties of rice with toppings."
"That's enough! As long as you make it yourself, it's fine!" The customers were really satisfied. You know, they never get tired of these meat patties, porridge, soy milk, fried rice, etc. Add some soup, noodles and rice toppings, and they can have a different meal for several days without repeating the same thing.
Actually, if this happened anywhere else, people would get tired of eating at the same place every day. But here at this restaurant, people crave it every day. If they hadn't seen the owner making it with their own eyes, they would have thought she put something inappropriate in it.
Song Xia had calculated that rice noodles and wheat noodles were actually very easy to make. She could prepare the toppings in advance, and when customers ordered, she could just blanch the rice noodles or wheat noodles. All the employees she hired could make them. The only thing that would take longer to make was the rice bowls with toppings. So, at first, she only planned to sell five kinds of rice bowls with toppings: scrambled eggs with tomatoes, minced pork with pickled green beans, celery and dried tofu, cumin beef, and stir-fried pork with farm-style vegetables. These five kinds were also the most frequently ordered by customers at those small stir-fry shops.
Moreover, these stir-fries are quick to prepare, and then customers can enjoy a delicious meal with a bowl of rice topped with a topping and a bowl of clay pot soup.
When Wei Zhu learned that her mother had taken over such a large store, she was almost speechless with astonishment. Even though the stall business had been good for the past two months, how could she have earned so much in just two months?
“You didn’t earn that much. Your dad left you some money before, and you also transferred a few months’ salary to him, didn’t you? You’re lying to your brother about not having money so he won’t squander it.”
Oh, I see!
"But with such a big store, isn't there a lot of pressure? Isn't it tiring?"
"There is definitely pressure, but if the shop doesn't expand, when will I be able to buy a house in the provincial capital by just setting up a stall? If it gets tiring, I can just hire two employees."
Wei Zhu was still worried: "Mom, why don't we not hire any employees yet? I can help with the work. Don't worry, I definitely won't let it interfere with my studies."
"I told you to focus on your studies, so I won't let you do this. Mom knows what she's doing, there won't be any problems. By the way, don't tell your brother about opening the shop yet, lest he get too cocky."
Wei Zhu nodded emphatically: "Yes, I won't tell."
"It's quite rare to see your brother working for so long. It seems we've spoiled him too much before. He's clearly very capable."
Wei Zhu silently prayed for her younger brother. Judging from her mother's words, it seemed that she would find more things for her younger brother to do in the future.
"We've spoiled him for so many years so that he'll be successful when he grows up, and it's time for him to take on responsibilities."
At this time, Wei Deng did not know that agreeing to work temporarily would result in working for a lifetime. After the New Year, the employees returned to work one after another, but because the customers had eaten too much meat and fish during the New Year, there were not many customers yet, and his work became easier and easier.
Thinking about the salary he was about to receive, he already had a plan in mind.
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