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Rooster & Rice thriving amid pandemic, standing up to Asian hate
San Francisco-based Rooster & Rice is leveraging its success throughout the pandemic for even more growth in 2021 and beyond.
March 25, 2021 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com
"If you love something, you invest in it," according to Shawn Tsao, co-founder of Caviar, a third-party restaurant delivery platform acquired in 2019 by DoorDash.
Tsao took his own advice that same year when he became part owner of Rooster & Rice, a 10-unit restaurant chain based in San Francisco specializing in a Thai chicken-and-rice dish.
While restaurants worldwide have struggled during COVID-19, Rooster's simple menu and low-cost, easy-to-run model, has helped it stay in the green even as consumers in California largely avoided dining out in 2020, said Rooster & Rice Founder Bryan Lew.
"We have adapted by streamlining our operations and cross-training employees," he told FastCasual. "For example, cashiers don't just ring in orders, and cooks are learning customer service tools aside from just being in the kitchen, we are looking to have more well-rounded staff. We've looked into more effective purchasing system, as well."
Backed by a partnership with Aroi Hospitality Group, a restaurant group whose team includes two of the founders of Caviar (Tsao as well as Jason Wang), Rooster & Rice is leveraging success throughout the pandemic for even more growth in 2021 and beyond.
From caviar to rice
After traveling the world together, with many stops in Southeast Asia, Tsao and Wang discovered Rooster & Rice and deemed it the "perfect Asian American dish."
"Our main dish, Khao Mun Ghai, is very simple and the sauce is our big differentiator," Lew said. "Khao Mug Ghai is a simple home-style meal that can be easily replicated."
Tsa and Wang agreed, also noting that the 6-year-old concept was scalable due to its "chef-driven, yet simple-to-execute menu and flexible footprint," which offers a ghost kitchen option and third-party delivery. Kiosks are also coming soon.
The team is opening company-owned locations in New York, Houston, Los Angeles as well as in the Pacific Northwest and officially launching a franchise program later this year.
"We will be looking for franchise owners to expand and open new Rooster & Rice locations across the country starting in the fall of 2021," Lew said.
Creating a safe space
Keeping businesses open, unfortunately, is just one of the side effects caused by COVID-19.
Anti-Asian hate crimes increased by nearly 150% in 2020. To do their part in helping people feel safe, Rooster & Rice locations in the Bay Area will welcome people who may feel unsafe to utilize the restaurants as a center to call for help.
"These attacks are race-oriented and particularly the attacks on the elderly should be called out to bring awareness of these incidents to light," Lew said.
Additionally, Rooster & Rice is launching an effort to donate $2 from every meal sold to the Asian American and Pacific Islander Initiative program, Hate Is A Virus, which continues to amplify, educate and activate AAPI to stand for justice and equality in solidarity with other communities.
"As an establishment that is proud to have Asian-American founders and offer Asian cuisine, Rooster & Rice is shocked and saddened by the uptick in violence against Asian-Americans, especially elderly Asian-Americans," Lew said. "The restaurant is hoping to keep people safe and drive awareness to help protect the Asian community.
About Cherryh Cansler
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