The Lazy Susan turntable can be seen at Chinese restaurants throughout the world. In the 1960s, you could find San Francisco Chinatown’s famous Kan’s Restaurant in their dining rooms on top of large tables. While Thomas Jefferson was actually credited with the invention of the turntable, it’s recognized globally as being synonymous with Chinese food. Lazy Susan aims to “celebrate ‘Chinese’ ‘American’ and the ‘-‘ of Chinese-American food.” Co-founder and CEO Hanson Li explains how they’re bringing Chinese food to San Francisco without compromising convenience, health, or price.
What inspired you to get into foodservice?
“The hospitality. I feel like I’m delivering little doses of happiness to customers.”
What do you love about your business?
“We designed Lazy Susan for the way we live today and our desire for delicious food without compromising convenience, health, or price. I love bringing ‘OG’ Chinese American favorites like General Tso’s Chicken and Pepper Steak in a contemporary approach.”
What’s the most interesting thing to happen to your business?
“I’ll pick two. First, the coolest is having Lazy Susan featured in long write ups in NYTimes, WSJ, and FT all within the first year of our opening. Second, the oddest is that we received an order for 100 jars of our condiment Umami Crunch from a sauce company who told us that they wanted to send the jars to their employees for inspiration.”
What is the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?
“We received 5 times more orders in the first hour of operations on Christmas day than our order volume for a typical Saturday. It was not a pretty sight with gaggles of delivery drivers and customers waiting for their pick up or delivery. Our team handled the deluge with style and grace (under much pressure!) We’ll have a lot better handle for next Christmas!”
Which Cambro products help make your business work?
“We love the lightweight but super utilitarian Cam GoBox food warmer. It’s easy to carry/transport but keeps food warm.”
Links for Lazy Susan
Nominate your business to be the Cambro’s Business of the Week – Click here!
Share this:
Categories: Cambro Featured Business of the Week, Catering