Concepts of Tomorrow

Growth Strategies For Emerging Full-Service Restaurants

Stuart Davis offers up traditional Chinese

cuisine with some American fanfare.

WOK THIS WAY

Stuart Davis isnt your typical Chinese restaurant owner. The born-and-raised Bostonian was a long way from home when he opened the first City Wok in star-studded
North Hollywood, Calif., in 1990. Yes, Im an American owning and operating a Chinese restaurant, says the 44-year-old founder and c.e.o. The authenticity comes
from our Chinese chefs and head chefs running the kitchen.
Davis began researching his four-unit concept in 1987. His goal: To create a fastcasual, consumer-friendly restaurant that serves fresh, high-quality, made-to-order
Chinese cuisine in a stylish setting with table service. He was convinced that menu
items prepared on the spot in front of customers were the future of fast-casual. He
was also convinced that his version of Chinese take-out and delivery services could
break through traditional poor-communication barriers by offering state-of-the-art
packaging and employing a well-trained staff. He succeeded on all fronts.
Davis, the fomer manager of Apples Bar in Santa Monica, Calif., designed City
Woks menu by experimenting with recipes in the bars kitchen after the kitchen was
closed. There he met Hing Fan Chan, a professional head chef trained in Kowloon,

STUART DAVIS:
Hes an American
in his version of
Chinese Heaven.

China. Chan, who previously cooked in many fine-dining establishments, helped

Davis create a high-end menu without the high-end prices. According to Davis,
Chan, who now operates his own restaurant, brought a lot of traditional recipes to
City Wok, yet worked with Davis to prepare his traditional dishes in a healthy manner, eliminating things like MSG. It was an East-meets-West approach that combined the best of their knowledge.
It was a 50-50 collaboration, Davis says. He had great talent when it came
B

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ETHAN KAMINSKY

JANUARY 2003 RESTAURANT HOSPITALITY

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WORKING WOK: Unlike many fast-casual

operations, City Wok prepares a customers
order on the spot, but with amazing speed.

WOK

THIS

WAY

ON

THE

MENU

City Wok Gyoza Bai

House special dumplings hand-made with
cooking in the kitchen. It sells
to professional, traditional Chinese cookchicken, bok choy and cilantro $4.95 (appetizer)
the brand and it sells the proding. I had a great sense of what people reuct, Davis says when describally wanted.
Won Ton
ing the mural. It shows people
Ninety percent of City Woks menu is
Shrimp, chicken, napa cabbage, snow peas,
what some of the food looks
available in half orders, an example of
carrots & freshly made chicken dumplings in a
like and it shows smiling
Davis knowing what people really want.
fresh chicken stock
servers, happy guests and lots
Davis claims City Wok was the first Chi$2.95 to $5.50 (soup)
of action. All City Wok restaunese restaurant to offer half orders, differSpicy Chili Bean Chicken
rants are built using high-end
entiating the concept from Chinese
Blue Lake string beans, Serrano Chilies, onions,
finishes, including stainless
restaurants that refuse to split orders. It
steel and graniteanything that
went over fantastically, Davis says.
diced red bell pepper, & garlic in our special salt
requires little maintenance.
Many people have favorites when it
and pepper mixture
City Woks packaging echoes
comes to Chinese, such as Kung Pao
$9.50 (full), $6.95 (half)
its dcor. Take-out and delivery
Chicken, which is perhaps one reason
Chicken Lettuce Cups
orders account for 30 to 40 perwhy 70 percent of City Woks menu still is
Minced
chicken
with celery, carrots, water
cent of City Woks daily busiintact today. Its amazing how people
chestnuts & scallions served with fresh lettuce
ness. Because of this, each City
come in and eat the same things three
leaves and hoisin sauce $6.50 (full only)
Wok has an area thats strictly
times a week, Davis says. But [new
designated for walk-in and
items] keep the menu fresh and looking
Shanghai Potato Scramble
phone-in orders only. Food is
good. How quickly an item can be made
Fresh cut potatoes, julienne red & green bell
packaged in state-of-the-art,
to order often determines whether or not
peppers, onions and egg, stir-fried with ginger
heavy-duty packaging that
it stays on the menu. If we feel there is a
and topped with minced green onions
sports City Woks logo. We
dish we just arent executing to our stan$6.95 (full only)
spent a lot of time and a lot of
dards, we take it off and offer something
money making sure the packagelse, Davis says.
Chinese Pepper Steak
ing is effective, Davis says. UnThe speed in which City Woks dishes
Tender filet mignon smothered with sweet
like many Chinese take-out
are prepared blends into the concepts
onions in a fresh pepper sauce $10.50 (full only)
joints, Davis says his packaging
dcor. City Wok sports contemporary exwas created to fit the food,
hibition kitchens where professional Chinese chefs show off their skills working two woks at once. The rather than creating food to fit a package.
Davis works to ensure that City Woks take-out prokitchen is the focal point of each restaurant. Its noisy, its fastpaced and fire occasionally shoots into the air. Its a show that cess is as slick as the take-out packaging. City Woks
leaves the counter seats rarely empty. This isnt a romantic res- seating is limited, with each unit offering about 80
taurant...you arent going to propose here, Davis says. seats. And with City Woks average check coming in at
about $8 for lunch and $12 for dinner, its pretty much
Theres a lot of action. Its hectic.
City Woks dcor also includes a large, marketing-inspired guaranteed that a four-top isnt going to generate a
wall display that is put together like a collage, depicting service $150 check. But, according to Davis, large take-out orpersonnel working tables, guests enjoying their food and chefs ders can reach the $100 range, easily. Therefore, Davis
says perfecting the take-out process is key.
We have young kids working on 40 orders at once,
DUAL ACTION: While chefs cook
Davis says. And its not just burgers and fries. These
on one side, take-out orders are
kids have to learn a 60- to 70-item menu. Each cusexpertly assembled on the other.
tomers take-out order is neatly packaged with condiments, fortune cookies and anything else the dishes
prepared require. Before the customer leaves, each
order is double-checked.

WOKS MARKETING EFFORTS GO BEYOND SLICK

wall displays and state-of-the-art packaging.
The restaurant maintains a web site at
www.citywok.com. Most of City Woks marketing efforts go into direct-mail campaigns that
use a 10,000-name database derived from City Woks
customers, who fill out guest cards or type in information into a computer at City Wok locations. Currently,
Davis is working to increase the number of names on

ITY

People walk in and, without sounding too prejudiced,

they see a slam-bang operation. Stuart Davis
32

RESTAURANT HOSPITALITY JANUARY 2003

WOK OR STAY: City Woks menu was

designed to travel well and also provide
for a comfortable, sit-down experience.

C I T Y

W O K

CONCEPT: A fast-casual, consumer-friendly restaurant that serves

fresh, health-consciously prepared, made-to-order Chinese
cuisine in a contemporary setting. UNITS: 4 in California.
OWNER: Stuart Davis, founder and c.e.o. LOCATIONS: El Paseo:
Palm Desert, Calif.; Country Club: Palm Desert, Calif.; Studio City:
Studio City, Calif.; Trump 29 Casino: Coachella, Calif. MENU:
Five-page menu includes traditional Chinese cuisine (Kung Pao
Chicken) and dishes unique to City Wok (famed City Wok Chicken).
AVERAGE CHECK: $8 lunch, $12 dinner ANNUAL SALES: $5.5
million company-wide FUTURE GROWTH: Two units per year for the
next five years

future growth (his goal is to open two units per year for the next
five years), Davis has spent the last two years honing the infrastructure of the company to create a mode of compliance and
best practices within each restaurant. He contacted Bill Main &
Associates for consulting purposes on everything from food handling and human resources to customized manuals for every position. Weve spent the last two or three years making sure the
company is ready to grow, Davis says.
LONG WITH SELF-FINANCING AND

CITY WOKS PROFITS, DAVIS

plans to finance future growth with the help of two
private investors that have been attached to City Woks
growth for several years. Smaller endeavors, such as
City Woks latest location at the Trump 29 Casino, are
the chains database. He consulted with Fishbowl, a completely self-financed. (The City Wok in the Trump 29 Canational e-mail marketing firm, to take care of City sino operates in an upscale, three-restaurant food court and,
Woks e-mail specials, including 20% discounts, and therefore, is smaller.)
birthday and anniversary specials. Were starting to
Currently, Davis is negotiating deals on two new City Wok
lean away from a postal database and leaning toward locations. He looks for spots in medium-sized shopping cenan e-mail database, he says. Its more cost-effective. ters that also house quality grocery stores and stores like WalDavis City Woks are located in tourist-infused Mart or CVS. Davis says co-tenants, such as Starbucks and
towns. Therefore, he makes a point to meet, greet, Jamba Juice, have worked well for City Wok in the past.
and feed local hotel concierges in
So how does City Wok compete with
hopes that they will recommend
other fast-casual shopping center locatedCity Wok to their hotels patrons.
concepts such as Panera and Chipotle?
City Wok Strategies
City Wok also buys listings in loDavis says City Woks distinguishing factor
Create everything within the chain to be
cal magazines that are placed in
is that it offers table service. At one point
consumer-friendly.
every hotel room in the area, but
Davis toyed with the idea of getting rid of
thats as far as Davis will go when
City Woks dishwashers and going to dis Prepare authentic, healthy, made-toit comes to coupons and advertisposable ware instead. We got a big, negaorder Chinese cuisine quickly and
ing. When you send out mailers
tive response from focus groups in L.A.,
efficiently. Offer half orders.
in things like Val Pack, you usuDavis says. People want to be served...
Offer table, take-out and delivery
ally get about a two percent rethey dont want to wait in line and get their
services.
turn, Davis says. Plus, your imown drink.
Pump up brand awareness through the
age takes a beating. Davis strives
Davis says he doesnt have an exit stratpackaging, dcor and web site.
to uphold City Woks image as a
egy, but adds that if the right buyer comes
non-discounter.
along, hell listen. For now, hes working
Create an infrastructure that offers a
Davis plans to grow the chain as
with consultants, continuing to make the
real mode of compliance and best
big as it can get without sacrificing
company strong from the inside so that,
practices within each restaurant so
quality and service. I never want
when the time comes, the concept looks
when the time comes to exit, the chain
to hear Oh, they used to be
attractive to larger companies peering in
looks attractive to quality buyers.
good, Davis says. To prepare for
from the outside.

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