Page 39 - Iconic Restaurateurs - The Entrepreneur Mag Ed. 3

Rapid Fire

Saurabh& The Chinese Dragon Café is Sri Lanka’s oldest and How do you view your competition?

Chinese Dragon Café’s

Naishadh most respected restaurant chain, tell us about its We believe that there is no competition in this industry as one
history
cannot expect customers to dine at the same restaurant every day.
Chinese Dragon Café was established in 1942 from a Chinese
Describe the typical Chinese Dragon customer?
descendent family. My brother Naishadh and I invested in the
As we are a family restaurant for casual dining, most of our
business in 2009 with only 2 branches and an established name in
Udeshi As the business has changed hands since 1942, what What are the challenges of operating in this
customers are laid back and they know exactly what they want to
Colombo.
order even before stepping into the restaurant.
were some challenges associated with this?
industry?
The Main challenge was the change in culture as we had a vision
The main challenges are managing employees, changing political
to expand the business with the brand name as the oldest Chinese
tides and the unpredictable economy.
Restaurant in Colombo. Today, we run the business professionally
as a chain of restaurants with 9 branches around Colombo, 300
What does the future hold for Dragon Café?
employees and a 77-year history.
How has Chinese Dragon managed to retain
food quality. We will continue to offer our customers a meal to
relevancy? We are focusing on strengthening our preparation times and
remember
Saurabh and Naishadh Udeshi are two brother who jumped at the opportunity to invest in a well- We have maintained the standard of food as far as our customers
known name in Sri Lanka’s restaurant industry – Chinese Dragon Café. Together, their collective can remember, thanks to customer feedback. The strength of our Any words of advice for those who want to venture
into this field?
ideologies transformed this once family run business into a thriving chain. Taking out some time from performance lies in our old employees who have been in the
business now for 30 years. This has also helped us remain relevant This is not an easy industry to succeed in. However, if you view
their busy schedules, they sat down with The Entrepreneur for a rapid-fire Q&A session, detailing in the minds of customers. every challenge with a shade of excitement to overcome it, you
more on their business operations. may succeed.

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