Thanks to the extensive publicity efforts beforehand, the entire Anqing Prefecture knew that the new restaurant was about to open, and that it was named by the Prefect himself, so everyone wanted to come and see it for themselves.
The restaurant's name on the gate tower was covered by a red silk cloth. This was the first time people had ever seen such a way of opening a business. The onlookers became increasingly interested in what the restaurant's name was.
This certainly whetted people's appetites, with a large number of people stopping in front of the door to watch.
When the auspicious time arrived, Manager Lu ordered firecrackers to be set off. The sound of the firecrackers immediately attracted more people to come and watch.
Soon after the firecrackers stopped, Zhao Xian and Manager Lu simultaneously pulled the rope on the red silk ribbon, which then fell down, revealing the restaurant's name to everyone.
"Qinghe Restaurant!" Everyone exclaimed in surprise.
"Qinghe Restaurant is opening today. Please come in, everyone. We have complimentary food and wine for you to enjoy," Zhao Xiankai announced loudly.
The fact that there was also delicious food and fine wine to sample immediately piqued everyone's interest, and they began to flock into the restaurant.
In the restaurant's main hall, there was a row of long tables with more than a dozen plates on them, each containing a dish of food to be enjoyed.
These dishes are all cold dishes, prepared by Zhao Dani the day before her opening. They mainly consist of various braised dishes, which are sliced thinly by the chef. In addition, there are various pickled vegetables and preserved eggs.
The free samples included more than ten varieties of food that people rarely saw, let alone tasted.
Two waiters held many bamboo skewers and distributed them to the people who came to taste the food. Those who tasted the food praised it highly, saying that they had never tasted anything so delicious. If the cold dishes were so good, how much more delicious must the main dishes be?
Some diners started to get excited, and some went directly to place orders.
In another part of the hall, a different scene unfolded, attracting even more attention.
There is a brewing device here, which Zhao Xian specially made yesterday. Of course, it is not actually brewing wine, but rather a large amount of lees is placed in the device and heated outside, so the aroma of wine is released, and the mellow fragrance of baijiu immediately fills the entire hall.
This device alone opened the eyes of everyone present.
At the outlet of the device, there is a thin pipe from which not only steam but also a rich aroma flows out.
The waiter explained to everyone that this was the equipment used to produce Qinghe wine, and the wine flowing out of it was Qinghe wine. This wine sold for four taels of silver per catty on the market, and people could sample it for free here.
Qinghe wine sells for four taels of silver per catty in the market, which is something everyone has heard of. Most people simply cannot afford such expensive wine, yet today we can taste it for free.
Now, people who like alcohol and those who don't are all lining up, wanting to taste Qinghe wine.
A waiter nearby carried a basket filled with small wine cups, which he distributed to those who were ready to taste the wine.
The person who received the wine cup couldn't wait to take the wine, but after taking only a little, it was pushed away by the person behind them.
There are too many people in line behind you, so it's impossible for you to fill your glass. This is for tasting wine; if you want to drink, you have to pay to buy it.
Those who tasted the wine immediately praised it highly; that's exactly the effect the restaurant wanted.
The ranks of wine tasting enthusiasts are growing longer, and more and more people want to taste wine.
This free tasting method has a very good promotional effect. People who have tasted the food and wine spread the word and immediately attracted more people to come over.
The free tasting event continued until noon, and the number of people coming to the restaurant not only did not decrease, but increased. At this time, Zhao Xian came over and announced:
"Today's free tasting event has ended. We are now officially open for business. All dishes are on sale at 20% off today, and Qinghe wine is on sale at half price, only two taels of silver per catty. Each table is limited to two catties."
Eating here today is such a great deal! Many people have already tasted the restaurant's food and are even more eager to know the flavors of its specialty dishes.
Many more people came specifically for Qinghe liquor. They had heard of this liquor before, and with the opening day and special offers on Qinghe liquor, they were determined to take this opportunity to enjoy a few drinks.
Soon all the seats in the hotel were filled. Those who didn't get a seat were a little disappointed. Zhao Xian told them to make reservations, and the promotion would last for three days.
Upon hearing this, everyone quickly made reservations, and all three days' worth of seats were soon booked.
On the first day of business, everyone was exhausted. It was very late when the restaurant finally saw off the last group of customers. Manager Lu and Zhao Xian tallied up the day's revenue, which was over 600 taels of silver. Assuming a profit margin of 50%, the gross profit was over 300 taels of silver.
The catering industry in Qing'anfu is currently highly competitive, making it very difficult to earn money. Even at its peak, this restaurant couldn't earn this much in a month.
When Zhao Xian and his companions returned to the residence, the servants fetched water for them to wash up and then rest. It seemed that having someone to serve them was quite nice.
The next day, the group arrived at the restaurant early. Since there was no free tasting event that day, the restaurant was much less crowded, but there were still many people dining there, all of whom had made reservations the day before.
If you come to the restaurant without a reservation, you definitely won't get to eat at the restaurant; you'll have to make a reservation.
But the discounts ended after three days. People who come here don't care about discounts as long as they can enjoy the delicious food and wine.
Then Zhao Xian bought some equipment and raw materials, and hired five helpers in the market to start producing kimchi and preserved eggs in his courtyard.
Liu Xuan quickly got the hang of it, assigned tasks to the five workers, and soon managed the production of kimchi and preserved eggs in an orderly manner.
As a cold dish, kimchi is in high demand, especially during the free tasting on the first day, which consumed a lot of kimchi. As soon as Liu Xuan starts production, the supply of kimchi will quickly catch up.
Century eggs are selling well, but they're not as popular as kimchi. Liu Xuan's century eggs take at least seven days to make, and by then, there definitely won't be enough supply.
However, this didn't stump him. He could temporarily buy some preserved eggs from the system to tide him over. The preserved eggs he bought from the system were of similar quality to those he made himself. They cost three coins each, while they were sold for five coins each in restaurants. He could still make a two-coin profit, but it wasn't as profitable as the ones he produced himself.
In the morning, Zhao Xian was busy at the restaurant when he suddenly heard a girl arguing with a waiter in the lobby. He quickly went over to check.
"Your restaurant was packed yesterday for its opening, and my grandfather didn't get to eat. We came early this morning, and it's still packed. They even made us make a reservation, saying we can only eat in five days. What's going on? Let your manager come out and explain!" a young woman said indignantly.
"Esteemed guests, I am truly sorry. The restaurant has just opened, and there are too many people coming to eat. The current reservations are already booked for five days in advance. I estimate that if you don't hurry up and make a reservation, you don't know when you will be able to eat."
"Many people are eager to enjoy the food as soon as possible, and they're all watching us, so we really can't make exceptions for them. Please forgive us." The waiter explained helplessly.
But the girl persisted, speaking louder and louder, insisting on seeing the shopkeeper, which attracted a crowd of onlookers.
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