Enter Christiana Chiang. The employees' eyes follow the trim, petite woman as she strides up to her guests and profusely apologizes for being an hour late. A wave of the hand is followed by an offering of tea and native Taiwanese delicacies, a thoughtful gesture since the guests have come all the way from Taipei. Chiang is a busy woman, active not only as partner to her husband, Charles, in their restaurant business, but also in Washington's many fundraising activities, political functions, as well as; Chinese associations.
It's hard to get a word in when Christiana Chiang starts talking about the Chinese restaurants she and her husband own and run in the Washington, D.C. area. Since 1974, the Chiangs have operated a total of fifteen restaurants, buying and selling as they went. As of the latest count, they have eight restaurants and one franchise, perhaps the beginning of another profitable business.
The Chiangs came to Virginia in 1973 from Taipei by way of Chicago. While Charles was studying for a doctorate degree in organic chemistry at the University of Illinois in Chicago, Christiana worked part-time as cashier and bookkeeper in Chinese restaurants. A job offer made to Christiana by a major Chinese restaurant in MacLean and the promise of a green card led the couple to settle in Virginia instead. The entrepreneurial spirit soon caught up with them and, like many Chinese, they opted for the restaurant business.
Charlie Chiang's Restaurant & Lounge serves fine wines from around the world as well as choice plum and rice wines.
They bought their first restaurant, located in a warehouse district, because it was cheap. But through resourceful thinking, they turned what could have been an unfortunate mistake into a good business. They offered lunch buffets at a reasonable price, and the workers in the area poured in. Since then, they have operated on one rule: that the important thing is not really the type of Chinese cuisine they serve, but that each restaurant should match its neighborhood.
At their branch in a shopping mall surrounded by the headquarters of many companies, they began a delivery service. And at their branch in a yuppie neighborhood, the emphasis is on light, nutritious dishes and artful presentation. The theme is also international. The restaurant serves Japanese, Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Korean food as well. "Western patrons are harder to please," says Christiana Chiang. "Each person in a group will usually order a separate dish, and not share. And when they order, they have to get what is described on the menu. The Chinese are more flexible. If you've run out of a vegetable, you just use a substitute. Westerners will ask questions."
And they joke about the name of the restaurant chain. Chiang says that patrons at the Van Ness restaurant still ask if they are related to Charlie Chan (With his wispy beard, long fingernails. and wise sayings. the mandarin detective, who was the central character of a string of 1930s movies, highlighted the stereotypical image Americans had of the Chinese.) Chiang says that while her husband's name may be Charles, the restaurant chain does, in fact, capitalize on the immediately recognizable name of Charlie Chan. Her husband had first suggested calling the Van Ness restaurant Madame Chiang's, but was won over by his wife' s idea. The choice proved Christiana Chiang has marketing savvy. The customers loved the name and remembered it well, prompting the couple to rename some of their other restaurants Charlie Chiang's Restaurant & Lounge.
Chiang makes the most of things. Even sour experiences have given her lessons in management. Remembering her days as a part-time employee in many Chinese restaurants, she says: "The Chinese staff worked long hours, and had no exercise. There was so much talking. I think it's loneliness that makes people gossip. I once worked in a restaurant where the boss was only too happy to stir up a bit of trouble. He thought that was the best way he could control his employees. Relationships in a Chinese restaurant are very complicated."
Among the Chiang's employees are Chinese whose families are still in Hong Kong, Taiwan, or mainland China. "They get a bit emotional," she says. She finds that she also plays the role of mother and counselor. "I give a lot of attention to their personal lives. I'm there when they're sick, or when they get married, or when they want to get divorced. Sometimes I feel I have les time to be a mother to my daughter."
Once, in the middle of a hectic evening, she dropped everything at the restaurant to go home and help her daughter with homework. "I was angry," she says. "But I rushed home because I didn't want to discourage her from calling me when she needs help. But my English at that time was far behind the level of her homework. I told her not to idolize me. I told her, 'My English is not as good as yours, I'm not a superwoman.' And I told her about my responsibility to the restaurant and to the staff. I know, it's not fair." Chiang adds that soon after, she bought her daughter several sets of encyclopedias and gave her the telephone numbers of her English-speaking friends.
The staffs of the Chiangs' restaurants mirror Washington's cultural mix. Among the employees are other Asians, Hispanics, Moroccans, blacks, and a sprinkling of Caucasian Americans. "My non-Chinese staff never bother me with their personal problems," she says. "But after work, they don't want me to bother them either. So no overtime. They always give me a straight answer. And they're very precise. Every detail is written out. That's a good way to do business in America."
To make it in the restaurant business in the United States, Chiang says, requires a balance between authentic Chinese food and American preferences and standards. One of the couple's goals is to build a central kitchen so that the restaurants will serve food of consistent quality, and can cater more huge banquets. The Chiangs have already done joint catering with Washington's belt hotel. And if anyone writes to ask for information or invites them to do a demonstration, the couple readily agree.
In 1989, Charles Chiang founded the Metro Washington Chinese Restaurant Association, which now has 140 members. It's original purpose, according to Christiania Chiang was for Chinese restaurants to band together and petition their congressman to prevent immigration officials from doing spot raids for illegal aliens. Now, among the association's other purposes is to have Chinese food accepted as fare for fine dining, and held with as much regard as French or Italian food.
The restaurant chain's logo is a scene from an old Chinese print, of a scholar or high official being served his meal. Underneath is the phrase, "Where east meets west delightfully." Easy to say, but hard to pull off. But at Charlie Chiang's Restaurant & Lounge, they're doing quite well, thank you. •