| Tsui Wah Restaurant Group | |
| Type: | Public |
| Industry: | Restaurants |
| Founded: | in Mong Kok |
| Founder: | Choi Cheung Po |
| Hq Location City: | Hong Kong |
| Areas Served: | Hong Kong, Macau, China, Singapore |
| Num Locations: | 51 (2022) |
| Key People: | Lee Kun Lun Kenji (CEO) |
| Owners: | --> |
Tsui Wah Restaurant (HKEX:) is a chain of tea restaurants (cha chaan teng) owned by Tsui Wah Holdings Limited, headquartered in Hong Kong. The restaurants serve Hong Kong-style food.[1]
As of 2022, the group has 51 branches[2] in Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China and Singapore. The possibly best-known one was on Wellington Street near Lan Kwai Fong, but this has now closed and has surrendered its lease due to trading problems surrounding the COVID-19 epidemic. Affected by COVID-19 lock-downs, the group surrendered leases of many of its locations in Hong Kong; during peak-Covid in 2020, it closed twelve locations at once.[3] [4]
Mr. Choi Cheung Po first opened TsuiWah Ice Dining Room, the predecessor of Tea Restaurant, in 1967 in Mong Kok. By the time of his retirement in 1989, the company had grown to seven branches, including the first one branded as TsuiWah Tea Restaurant, in San Po Kong, Kowloon.
Originally, the restaurant was intended for the use of construction workers, and the food was cheap and service efficient. As the business grew, it began to target more middle-class customers such as white-collar workers and tourists,[5] while also increasing its prices, which are now above average for the segment.[6] [1] The company also targeted locations in Hong Kong's central business districts, despite higher rents.[7]
For marketing reasons, the company has made a concerted effort to appear in Hong Kong-made films such as Love in a Puff and Lan Kwai Fong, in order to establish Tsui Wah as a cultural icon of Hong Kong.[8]
Since 2008, Tsui Wah has used a central kitchen to supply branches within a radius of approximately or delivery time of two hours, in order to ensure operating efficiency and quality and the benefits of centralised purchasing.[9]
Speed of service is a key operating parameter: from the time customers come in to the time they pay their bill is planned to take place within 40 minutes.
Tsui Wah has a communal seating arrangement, with customers expected to share a table with others during busy periods. The tables are also packed more closely, enabling the restaurants to generate more business per square metre.[10]
The company's head office was located in the Tsui Wah Group Centre in Ngau Tau Kok, Kowloon.[11] It was later moved to Tai Wai, Sha Tin.
The first unit outside Hong Kong was opened in Shanghai in 2009, followed by outlets in Macau (2011) and Wuhan (2012).
In 2012, the company was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.