Everyone is aware of the topic I’m discussing. The long-standing modest Chinese restaurant/grocery store in the town. Numerous companies open and close. The city shifts. These are places that never change. How do they accomplish that?
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A lot of these long-standing Asian restaurants and grocery stores stay open because they have loyal customers, offer unique products, and are often family-run. They stick to traditions and keep the community vibe strong, which helps them survive changes in the city. It’s all about consistency and community.
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Had a friend whose family had a Thai restaurant in the neighborhood.
When it was run by their parents, they would find just arrived Thai people and put them to live in their home. From what I’ve heard, they were paid cash minimum salary.
That was run for more than fifty years. They then made the decision to sell it to a different Thai family who desired to open a restaurant.
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@Calla I find it hard to believe that’s genuinely the case.
My acquaintance received an opportunity to work as a barman at a well-known tourist bar in St John’s. He accepted it as the owner was offering him a place to stay in her home as well as base pay plus tips. The living room floor was furnished with a blanket and pillow (not the couch, as senior employees were assigned to the couches); servers received base pay of $2 or so per hour; the proprietor retained his gratuities as “rent.” In this case, I suppose it’s same crap.
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I grew up loving this amazing Chinese food restaurant in my home town… I moved away to a place with 6+ Chinese food restaurants and realized how bad my hometown’s food was.
So being the only Chinese food restaurant did a lot of heavy lifting
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Work ethic, frugal living, and an emphasis on societal prosperity rather than individual benefit.
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@Anne This is mostly true; it’s about living a very simple life, being thrifty, saving money, and concentrating on raising the next generation. It is important to recognize that their upbringing has made life more difficult for them, and for them, even a modest lifestyle is respectable.
So, while it might seem like magic, the longevity of these establishments is often the result of a well-balanced approach. They offer a combination of consistency, community, adaptability, and financial prudence that enables them to thrive in an ever-changing world.
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