I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 186



Only Noblemtl

186 Quinton Smith

Last year was a year of many elections. In Korea, a new president was elected, and in the United States, Obama was re-elected.

The Gangnam Style craze that started late last year has not yet died down and is spreading the Korean Wave at a frightening pace throughout the United States. And after Hundred Dishes became a huge success in New York, other runners are starting to follow suit.

[Joe’s Gopchang]

I blankly stared at the signboard of a store whose interior was being renovated. A tripe restaurant opened in New York. Across the street, a gamjatang restaurant opened for business.

Hundred Dishes gave courage to self-employed people who were worried about whether Korean food would work.

There is no need to fix anything separately. Just take Korean food as it is. In the first place, there is no food in this world that can embrace everyone.

As the business expanded, I felt the need for a holding company. With the help of a lawyer, I established a corporation and incorporated Segreto, Hundred Disis, and even the Korean investment company into the holding company.

JH Company

It may be small now, but in the near future, every American will know the name of this company.

If I wanted to expand my business to several cities in the East, I needed some organization. I needed someone who could handle all the other tasks so I could focus on cooking.

I know a lot of great managers, but they’re all in the IT industry. If I asked them to run a restaurant franchise, they probably wouldn’t accept it.

‘What should I do?’

When I told Joohee about these concerns, she recommended someone.

“Remember? When I was at Harvard, I said there was a genius who couldn’t be beat.”

I remember Joo-hee complaining with a corpse-like face during the exam period. Did she say she was upset because there were things that didn’t work out no matter how hard she tried?

“Yeah. I remember.”

“Why don’t you meet him? I heard he used to work at the U.S. Department of Commerce but then quit.

“There’s nothing he can’t do, from marketing, finance and accounting, to operations and human resources. The problem is that his family is rich, so his motivation to work is somewhat low, but it’s definitely worth talking about.”

Since I had been in constant contact with Joo-hee, meeting him was not difficult.

He came to Joo-hee’s house at her request to meet her.

Americans never say they will visit a host before the host invites them, but this man didn’t seem to care much about etiquette.

“Hey, Joohee!”

A man with impressive reddish blond hair greets Joo-hee with a hug.

‘This kid?’

I hid my discomfort and shook his hand. I felt uncomfortable with the subtle strength in his grip.

He is a little shorter than me and has a thin build. Judging from his skin and hair color, he appears to be an immigrant of Irish or Scottish descent.

“You finally get to meet Joo-hee’s husband. I’m sorry I couldn’t attend the wedding. I was on a business trip at the time and didn’t have time. My name is Quinton Smith.”

“This is Shin Je-hee. I guess you are close with Joo-hee?”

He smiles awkwardly at my comment that the greeting was too formal.

“Haha. Please understand. It’s nice to see my old friends again after such a long time. Wow! Hello? Little angels. Call me Uncle Quinton.”

Instead of saying hello, he started talking to the children playing next to their mother. He was a distracted man.

In a jiffy.

Yuna gets up and runs behind her mother. Then she peeks her face out and looks at him.

Yuna is a corner girl. She is the leader at home, but she is afraid of unfamiliar places and people.

“Uncle Kean?”

As Noah shows interest and repeats his name, Quinton picks up the baby and runs away.

“Yeah, that’s right! Aww, this cute guy.”

Whoa.

Joohee smiles faintly as she sees the child having fun.

“Juhee was really popular at Harvard. I got dumped once too. Whoa whoa! I thought she didn’t have a boyfriend, so don’t think like that.”

Is this guy really a genius? When I was questioning the Harvard education system, I sat down at the table with him and started having a serious conversation.

“Honestly, it’s not an attractive proposition. Expanding an existing business is something that anyone can do, not just me.”

It was an understandable reaction. A guy with an undergraduate degree and an MBA from Harvard wouldn’t want to run a restaurant franchise. But I don’t plan on stopping here.

“I don’t think you’ll be very interested in just inheriting the system I’ve created. In that case, how about we venture into a new market together?”

“A new franchise? I don’t really care about that either. Do you really need me to open a restaurant?”

It seems like he came here to greet Joohee.

“Mr. Quinton, what is your view on the future of the restaurant industry?”

I wanted to test this man’s insight. Since I told him what I wanted to do in advance, he must have prepared himself.

“The population of the United States will continue to grow. The proportion of people eating out is also increasing. Overall, the pie of the restaurant industry is growing. However, profitability will continue to decline. Costs and labor costs are rising, commissions are increasing due to increased delivery services, and customer tastes are becoming more diverse.

Looking at your current business, it seems like you are interested in healthy and sustainable food, which is the right direction. However, both fine dining and Korean restaurants have a limited customer pool. Mr. Shin’s business is expected to grow slowly.”

This is an accurate analysis. Over time, people will cook less and less. However, this will not lead to increased profits for the restaurant industry. Some companies that dominate distribution and delivery platform companies will make money. Tech companies that provide various robots and kiosks will also get involved and take advantage of the self-employed.

Even if Korean food becomes popular in the future thanks to the Korean Wave, it will be difficult for it to exceed 3% of the entire restaurant industry pie. And it is a clear fact that the customer pool for fine dining is narrow. In that sense, his analysis that it will grow gradually is valid.

“If we maintain the status quo.

“I have a business idea. But it’s not easy, so I can’t do it alone. I’m a chef, not a businessman.”

“Interesting. What kind of business is it?”

“It’s lunch.”

This is an idea I’ve had since I met Michelle at the museum.

If government-led school lunch policies fail in the future, what will I gain from it?

Starting a food service business in the United States is not as easy as it sounds. There are issues such as food sanitation licenses, health and hygiene regulations, qualified staff such as nutritionists and cooks, and facility and equipment standards that cannot be handled while working in a restaurant.

The cost of a lunch in an American high school is around $3. If you don’t have scale, you’ll never be able to make a profit.

But I planned this business with a clear vision.

“ah!”

Quinton stops talking and starts thinking deeply about something. After thinking about this for a while, he takes out a piece of paper and a pen and starts drawing a mind map.

“The current state of school lunches in the U.S. is the worst. It is literally desk-bound administration. Michelle’s school lunch reform increased the budget, but the service and quality have declined, and the discontent among children and parents has reached a critical point where it would not be surprising if there were riots.

If you serve proper meals here, you will get a response. You can expand your business based on this. You can supply to hospitals and prisons, and you can even make your brand more luxurious and enter the cafeterias of large corporations.

Healthy and convenient meals have a huge market size. After gaining recognition, you can expand your road shops not only in big cities but all over the United States. You can also think about brunch abroad.

“The idea of ​​acclimating children’s tastes to the school lunch is also good. When they grow up, they will naturally seek out Chef Shin’s food.”

The mind map starts to spread out in all directions from Quinton’s hand. He is an amazing person. With the keyword of catering, he quickly grasped the essence of the business I was thinking of.

I want to be the Goliath of the American restaurant industry with the right food and business philosophy.

“We’ll have to figure out what’s needed here later. It’ll require a large investment, so do you have the capital?”

When the mind map he drew had spread out into about 20 directions, he looked at me and asked me a question. I was skeptical because it wasn’t a plan that could be accomplished with just a few pennies.

“There is more than enough. We have about $300 million available right now, and we can invest more later.”

That’s probably the limit to how much you can borrow at a low interest rate without disposing of your stocks. Still, it’s not a problem for starting a business.

“I will join you. Please let me invest about 10%. I need that much equity to give my voice to others.

And I want a perfect top-down bureaucracy. I don’t need a decision-making process. What I want is soldiers who will faithfully follow orders. Of course, Chef Shin is the CEO, so he’s an exception.”

He comes out of his own world and speaks with an awkward expression.

It seems like you’ve been through a lot when you were in the Department of Commerce.

There are various factions among the bureaucracy. You may have experienced the irrationality of slowing down the decision-making process and prioritizing factions over the interests of the country. I heard that there was a strong candidate for Assistant Secretary, but I wonder if he quit the organization for this reason.

“Okay. I already decided on a name. Is that okay?”

When we were planning a school lunch business, the name came to mind naturally.

“The name of the company is more important than you think. If it’s weird, it’s a problem. Please tell me.”

“DOSIRAK.” In Korean, it means lunch box.

“Lunch box, lunch box… It’s easy to pronounce and sounds exotic, so it’s quite good. It’s intuitive, so it’s easy to convey the meaning. Since the new chef is Korean, it’s also good to appeal to him. What kind of food do you plan on selling?”

“Don’t worry. It’s school lunch, so we’ll provide menus that kids like. We’re also thinking about adding a Korean dish or two.”

I have to make a budget lunch while keeping to my cooking philosophy. Plus, my kids won’t eat food that doesn’t taste good, no matter how healthy it is. This is a big challenge for me.

“Very good.”

He nods as if satisfied.

“I have some principles in my business. They are not optional, you have to follow them.”

“What is it?”

“I value coexistence as my top priority. I will work with local farms to simplify the distribution structure. I do not intend to do dirty business by inserting distribution steps. And none of the businesses I run accept tips. I also have to pay my employees a sufficient wage. Does that seem difficult?”

Of course, this is a problem after the catering business, but it needs to be said now, if only to avoid future conflicts. I am not trying to make money in the fast food business.

“You will need your own logistics and distribution channels. It will be beneficial in the long run.

I am from the UK and the tipping culture in the US is a bad habit that I cannot understand no matter how hard I try. It is more customer friendly so it is actually an advantage for expanding the business.

However, we will have to hire employees who are mainly immigrants who can accept this. Later, there may be government-level sanctions.”

Quinton says, tapping his fingers on the table.

“I’ll take care of the menu. You figure out how to sell it.”

“Anything worthwhile is always welcome. Let’s start by taking over New York’s food market.”

He shows his teeth and laughs like a villain.

We wrote up the contract by hand on the spot.