From a sidewalk restaurant 'upgraded', more customers or leaving?

Crowded with customers

For many years, the blood cockle porridge shop of Mrs. Cuc (60 years old), located in District 5 (HCMC), has rarely had a day without customers. During "peak" hours, customers flock to the shop, sometimes the tables are full, there are no more empty seats.

The porridge shop has a spacious area and is crowded with customers.

This restaurant, which has been around for more than 10 years, started out as a sidewalk restaurant 10 years ago, when she moved from her hometown in Hau Giang to Ho Chi Minh City to take care of her sick father. The porridge restaurant was born because she wanted to have money to cover expenses as well as cook nutritious food for her father with poor health.

Thanks to her delicious cooking skills and unique dishes, from the first days of opening, the owner has been supported by many people. The good news spread far and wide, and more and more customers came to her small porridge cart. 3 years later, to better serve her customers, Ms. Cuc decided to "upgrade" the premises, renting the house behind where she usually sells porridge to open a shop.

Accordingly, this premises is located on the frontage of a large, prime street in District 5, with a lot of traffic. "That is my brother's house, so the cost and everything is comfortable, it's my relative's house. Moving to a new premises but still selling at the old location, not moving anywhere, so the customers have not changed, even more and more," the owner shared.

The porridge at the restaurant is loved by customers.

The restaurant is spacious and airy, with mirrors on both walls, making diners feel the space is more spacious. She said that in recent years, the porridge restaurant has become more popular on social networks, and more and more people have come to the restaurant. The great support of customers is the joy and happiness of the restaurant.

Having eaten at this cockle porridge shop for over a year, Mr. Tan (25 years old, living in District 8) said that the shop is not far from his house, the roasted rice porridge tastes delicious like in his hometown so he especially likes it. Because the shop is located on the main street, one time he happened to pass by and saw that there were so many customers, he stopped by to try it.

“I loved it right after eating. The blood cockle porridge is nutritious, and seeing the owner make it hygienically, I really like it, 9/10. I work in Thu Duc so I don't often come here, but I often bring my friends here on the weekends,” said the customer.

Sadly closed

Starting from a fried fish ball cart on the sidewalk, after many years of trading, in mid-2023, the owner of the fried fish ball shop, Vu Thu Phuong, decided to open a proper shop and the premises are the frontage of Ngo Gia Tu Street (District 10) to do business.

In the beginning, after opening, customers flocked to the restaurant to support because the owner of this fried fish ball restaurant was known by many people on social networks. However, after many months of business, in early 2024, the restaurant owner sadly announced that it would close.

Many people like to eat at cheap restaurants.

"This year the economy is difficult, so we will temporarily close the whole house. I don't know where our lives will go," the owner sadly shared with customers at that time.

Mr. Nhat Nam (23 years old), who came to support the restaurant when it opened, also said that he came here to eat not only because of the taste of the fried fish balls but also because of curiosity and love for the cheerful and humorous personality of the restaurant owner.

When he heard the news of the restaurant closing, he felt a bit regretful about losing a favorite dining spot. “However, I also thought that at that time the economy was difficult while the cash cost there was not small.

With a popular dish like fried fish balls, you may have to sell to a large number of customers to be able to pay for the premises and make a profit. Closing the restaurant at that time, in my opinion, is a safe solution," said Mr. Nam.

Many restaurant owners say that "upgrading" their restaurant premises helps them serve customers better.

Meanwhile, the owner of a sidewalk restaurant in District 8 (HCMC) said he has never thought about upgrading his restaurant, even though business has improved. According to him, the customers he serves are ordinary workers who like the comfortable sidewalk space.

Every day, he only sells in the evening, after work to earn more income. If he rents a space, it will cost more money and he will lose his regular customers, so there are many risks. "When renting a large space, there are more things to worry about. If you don't think carefully, you will go bankrupt so I don't dare to dream. There are many popular shops that are expensive, but if they move to a more luxurious space, they will not sell well," he said.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thue-mat-bang-mo-quan-o-tphcm-tu-quan-an-via-he-len-doi-khach-dong-hon-hay-bo-di-185240612121349088.htm