Turning Dumplings Into Gold
Stern MBA Kenny Lao describes a typical long day working to streamline operations at his successful New York eatery
I'm the founder and owner of Rickshaw Dumpling Bar, a fast-casual restaurant that features Asian-inspired stuffed dough wrappers on West 23rd Street near Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. Teaming up with Chef Anita Lo (Annisa), I helped create a menu that includes Peking duck and chicken and Thai basil dumplings with a variety of dipping sauces and served in noodle soup or with an entree salad. Other popular items include the green tea milkshake and chocolate soup dumplings.
After earning my MBA from Stern in 2004, I turned the business plan that I had written while still in school into a reality. I capitalized on my victory in the NYU Stern Business Plan Competition when raising money for the business, and I was also invited to be part of the Stern Incubator program, which fosters the growth of startups. My MBA, combined with my previous experience as a restaurant consultant for Myriad Restaurant Group (Tribeca Grill, Montrachet, Nobu, Nobu Next Door), naturally led me back into the hospitality industry -- but this time at a level that was scalable and autonomous.
ON MY BIKE. The restaurant has generated a lot of buzz in New York. Rickshaw has been featured in numerous newspapers and magazines, and an MTV camera crew has even been following me around for a documentary that will probably air later this year. My plan is to open other units, beginning with the Manhattan market.
Here's a typical day at the restaurant:
8:45 a.m. -- Out the door on my bike and cruising to the restaurant to open the "factory." The dumpling wrapping staff arrives at 9 a.m., even though we don't open to the public for lunch until 11:30 a.m.
9:00 a.m. -- Dumpling-making begins. I unlock the door to the restaurant just in time to walk through the day's inventory with Sous-Chef Josefat, who makes the dumpling fillings.
9:30 a.m. -- Make calls like one to my partner, Andy Stenzler, founder of Cos? to discuss the statement we are preparing for investors.
10:00 a.m. -- Kitchen crew arrives. I assist Maria, a new employee, who will be handling the salad and noodle soup station during our busy lunch period.
10:30 a.m. -- The MTV camera crew shows up to follow me around for the day. After someone mikes me, I fiddle with the dumpling steamer, which has been acting up.
11:00 a.m. -- I sneak out to pick up an iced coffee. When I get back to the office, I touch base with my real estate broker and arrange to meet him in the afternoon to look at potential new locations in Manhattan.
11:30 a.m. -- We open the doors, and there is already a line. I turn on the iPod for some music -- first song of the day is Beast of Burden by the Rolling Stones.
11:40 a.m. -- We gear up for the lunch rush. I quickly run to my office to review our paper products order for tomorrow. We go through hundreds of take-out boxes a day.
12:30 p.m. -- I get behind the counter and assume the role of expediter with my star expediter Reagan Ho. Expediters are responsible for assembling and handing out the completed orders to the customer. Lunch is the point where we test the limits of this production model. Each day is a new opportunity for me to see where there can be improvements here and in the next restaurant.
12:45 p.m. -- There is a line to the door. Reagan and I are working through the orders, and I try my best to recognize regulars and greet them through the rush.
1:00 p.m. -- Send a sample of dumplings to WOR radio station for a local food segment.
1:45 p.m. -- Retreat to the office where David Weber, my operating partner, has already started estimating our paper costs to develop a standard order to simplify the inventory receiving process.
2:00 p.m. -- Lo drops in to check on the new duck recipe and see how it's going downstairs. I work with her on the flavoring and discuss the rollout process for the new salads.
2:30 p.m. -- I meet my real estate broker to weigh the pros and cons of possible new restaurant sites ? lease amount, foot traffic, and round-the-clock business. Grab lunch at Burger Joint in midtown.
3:45 p.m. -- I sneak in a 15-minute nap under my desk.
4:00 p.m. -- Review new menu items with the cashiers and give them a food quiz to test their product knowledge.
5:30 p.m. -- Greet an investor and his wife who have just come in for a quick bite before they head off to the theater. I give his wife a tour of the kitchen and offer them a preview of the new salads with dumplings.
6:30 p.m. -- The dumpling wrapping staff finishes their day, which means I can now work with the prep guys on making the new dressings for tomorrow.
7:00 p.m. -- Today I am standing on the line observing the dinner rush. I am trying to remove myself from the actual process because the goal is to create a stand-alone, operationally viable unit that does not depend on any one individual to run successfully.
8:30 p.m. -- Return e-mails and phone calls.
9:30 p.m. -- Close the restaurant and look at our revenue numbers and product mix. We beat last week's number for this day, and that makes me happy.
10:00 p.m. -- Take inventory of the dumplings, so I know what we need to make the following day.
11:00 p.m. -- Bike down to a hot new restaurant for the James Beard Award's Chef's Night Out to schmooze with other restaurateurs and chefs. I say some hellos and hand out some business cards before heading home to bed.
This is a tough business, and any leg up on the competition is important. Having an MBA has given me an advantage because I can see opportunities with respect to scalability and growth more easily than others.
If you are interested in working in the restaurant biz, you need operational knowhow, a passion for restaurants (not just food), and direct restaurant experience. Remember, in this business having an MBA does not exempt you from getting your hands dirty.