706 Reopening of Savory Alley (2)
The day of the reopening of Savory Alley finally came. Just as they were told, the staff of Savory Alley was all present and had come early for work.
The moment Qiao Lian opened the kitchen, they all went to their stations and started with their mise en place. Others cleaned the dining area to make sure that it would look pristine once the customers came in.
Lin Xiao and Liu Jinfei worked alongside each other and cut the poultries, meats, and fishes in appropriate sizes for later use, while Yang Fangjin started to get busy in his own station.
Since Qiao Lian was in charge of checking the reservations the customers made online, she was a little nervous. There had only been three reservations made since yesterday.
Because Shen Lingqing wanted to know the best approach on handling Savory Alley by keeping the patrons the restaurant established and attracting new customers at the same time, she utilized social media to promote the restaurant, targeting the young adults as well as those foodies who loved local cuisine.
The feedback was doing well. Yet with only three confirmed reservations, would they be able to pull today’s reopening of the restaurant successfully? If this persisted, then they would need to try another method and another round of planning to entice the customers to come and visit their restaurant.
“Qingqing…” Qiao Lian wanted to ask her boss if they had a Plan B should their original plan fail today. It wasn’t like it would be humiliating for the Shen princess to fail on her first try, but Qiao Lian knew how important it was for Shen Lingqing to make this restaurant successful.
“It’s okay, Lian. It’s still early to tell whether we failed today or not. Give it some time. I’m sure we will be pretty busy today, so you better be prepared for it,” Shen Lingqing said as if she knew what her assistant was trying to say.
Qiao Lian nodded. Shen Lingqing was right. She shouldn’t worry about the reservations and help with the preparation. She could only trust that they would be able to make it well today.
“Miss Qiao, I’m really nervous. I feel like I’m going to throw up,” Lin Xiaoyu told her. She had never been this nervous since her entrance exam for the university she was trying to get in.
“It might not look obvious, but I’m also nervous, too, Miss Lin.” Qiao Lian laughed awkwardly. She wasn’t worried about the restaurant’s fate; she was more worried about whether Shen Lingqing would succeed on her first try or not.
She and Shen Lingqing might have been exposed to this kind of setting since they were younger by following Madam Shen around, but it was totally a different matter that they were now doing the job themselves.
As if to prove Shen Lingqing’s point, Qiao Lian was overwhelmed with the number of reservations that came that noon. They were fully booked for today, and the reservations kept on coming for the next few days. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“Guys! Good news! We got customers today. Let’s do our best and serve them well!” Qiao Lian’s voice resounded in the kitchen, getting everyone’s attention. She was clearly ecstatic at the sudden turn of events that favored them.
Did Shen Lingqing anticipate that this would happen, or was she confident that they would be able to make it?
“En!” They responded. Everyone was pleased that they would be able to cater to customers today. They were constantly on the move, never slacking in their work as they made sure that all were prepared before the first round of service started at five in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Shen Lingqing continued her rounds. She was specifically dressed today as the restaurant’s manager and would be the first one to greet the customers once they arrived.
Now and then, everyone would look at the clock, watching as the hours passed by. When the clock struck one in the afternoon, they all stopped for half an hour to have their lunch in the kitchen. Dishes were served at a small table, and they fell in line to take their meals one by one.
Oddly enough, they didn’t have any appetite to eat more, as they were all apprehensive of their opening today. No one spoke a word and continued eating their meal in silence. Not even the talkative Yang Fangjin dared to make a comment, as they worked in the kitchen.
Shen Lingqing occasionally dropped by, checked their works, and tasted the fillings and sauces the chefs made. She didn’t voice out any opinions and continued with her work, leaving the three chefs working in their stations.
The silence in the kitchen was only broken when her phone suddenly rang. They all turned their heads to their manager out of reflexes.
“Mom, what is it?”
Were they hearing things, or was it really Madam Shen giving their manager this late call an hour before they officially opened the restaurant? Perhaps, Madam Shen was giving her daughter good luck, knowing that today’s opening.
When the clock struck five o’clock, everyone was on the edge. The signage on the front door was changed to open, and they all waited with anticipation.
Shen Lingqing was in the diner’s area with Qiao Lian and Lin Xiaoyu, dressed in the new uniform of the restaurant and waiting for their customers patiently.
The chime of the front door rang, indicating the first customers had arrived. It was a young couple who was enthralled with the interior decor of the restaurant as soon as they stepped inside the restaurant.
It was like they stepped into a totally new place, different from what they were expecting to see. The decor was minimalist and modern at the same time. It looked clean and pleasing to one’s eyes.
It wasn’t trying hard to please the customers, but instead, it greeted them with a comfortable ambiance they expected to see in a five-star restaurant.
“Welcome to Savory Alley.”