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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 2, 1987)
Monday, March 2, 1987/The Battalion/Page 3 State and Local 6 new restaurants hit B-CS area in '86 Chinese invade the Brazos Valley I r, igh costflf ne of tkl rt'est Coi}j ffer. Ha; i the mi tamisfc cultynn ling for ■ held In ic univer itentiom f ataderrr msiderini ill decii ise of (!i( lough tin | have am- :gree,dif •rsity will omethini instead o: By Karl Pallmeyer Reporter The Chinese have invaded Brazos Valley. But the invasion is friendly, for they are armed with only rice, bean sprouts, soy sauce, woks, chopsticks and Tsing Tao beer. In the past year, six new Chinese food restaurants have opened in the Bryan-College Station area, bringing the total number to 13. Universal Grocery also has been offering a Chinese food deli for about nine years, and there are Chinese food snack bars in both Manor East and Post Oak malls. The oldest Chinese food restau rants in business today are the Hong Kong Restaurant in Bryan and the Egg Roll House in College Station. Sjso Yang, owner of the Hong Kong Restaurant for the past five years, says the restaurant was in business for five years before she took over in 1982. The Egg Roll House opened in 1977, the same year as the Hong Kong Restaurant, and has been under the same man agement for the past 10 years. In 1981, Hunan Restaurant opened, followed two years later by the Imperial Chinese Restaurant and the Jade Garden Restaurant. Then, in 1984, BB’s Oriental and the Mongolian House restaurants opened. For about a year, BB’s Oriental Restaurant delivered food in College Station. Owner Kenneth Jiang says the service was dropped when it became too expensive. When Chinese Fast Food opened in 1985, it delivered orders of J 10 or more to most of College Station, but owner Howard Chang says the serv ice was time-consuming and took too many employees away from the res taurant during its busiest times, so delivery was limited to the Texas A&M campus on weekdays only. As one of five Chinese restaurants to open in the past year, the Pacific Garden Chinese Restaurant opened in December, delivering items total ing $4 or more, but limited to a four- mile radius of the restaurant during lunch and dinner hours. During the summer, Peking Ex press, the only Chinese food restau rant with a drive-through window, opened, along with Singapore Cninese Restaurant. Then, during the fall, the Chun King and the Sing Lee Chinese 8c American restaurants opened. David Lee, owner of the Hunan Restaurant, says there may be too many Chinese food restaurants in Bryan-College Station and that the Texas economy is too slow right now to support a lot of restaurants. Clinton Borchardt, president of the Brazos Valley Restaurant Asso ciation, says there may be too many restaurants of any type in Bryan- College Station, and that the Brazos Valley has a large number of restau rants for a community of this size. Restaurants throughout Texas are having problems because of the present state of the economy, he adds. Many of the Chinese food restau rants which have opened in the past year originally had planned to open in Houston, but came to the Brazos Valley because business here is bet ter than in Houston, he says. During the past year, about 12 Photo Illustration by Bill Hughes restaurants, including Fuddruckers, Rita Street and the Creole Cafe, have closed, but Borchardt says many of these reopened a few months later under a new name and new management. Most of the owners of the Chinese food restaurants say their businesses are either breaking even or doing well. And most agree that the quality of their food is the biggest factor of their success, but that there are seve ral other reasons. Irene Ku, assistant manager of the Imperial Chinese Restaurant, says good management is one secret to success. Her 14 years of experi ence in the business, along with the way she treats her customers, has helped the restaurant greatly, she says, and added that her employees are devoted and work hard. Several of her employees also are relatives, she says, which might enhance their devotion to the restaurant. All of the other Chinese food res taurants also are run by families. Most of the families come from Tai wan, but some are from the Peoples’ Republic of China, and one family is from Vietnam. Borchardt says by us ing family members as employees. rs “donair tball teac acadeiffi liors wilt * SAT . over ein to ei istaurant :’s. The' gningb nth ever the m of SMI ow fertile donation icr edufl s? jurnd'' he Battil >mb ippe n acky, ^pliic fby and •rget the Teate i ver, nates' 1 staff"' zle the d® Two masters of music in concert at once! Misha Dichter, Kazfmierz Kord, pianist music director and conductor Misha Dichter, a champion of the keyboard will perform with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra under Kazimierz Kord, world renowned music direc tor and conductor, March 7 in Rudder Auditorium at 8 p.m. Misha Dichter has been described by Hewsweek as "the best of the new breed of pianists His impeccable recitals, orchestral performances and his highly acclaimed recordings have made him a favorite of audiences around the world. Kazimierz Kord has been music director of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra since 1977. He has appeared with orchestras and opera companies throughout the world including Paris, Toronto, London, Moscow, Berlin, Tokyo, Mexico and the U.S.A. Kord and Dichter are presented as part of the continuing music of MSC OPAS Fourteen. The MSC Opera and Performing Arts Society brings master musi cians from all over the world. Find out how two musicians and one of the finest orchestras in the world make music in Rudder Auditorium. Don't miss this rare opportunity to see and hear the best. Order your tickets for the March 7 performance from the MSC Box Office. VISA and MasterCard call 845-1234. MSC Opera and Performing Arts Society Memorial Student Center • Te\as A&M University • Box J l • College Station TX 77844 9061 the restaurants don’t have to hire many outside employees and there fore have fewer problems with dis honest workers. Prices and specials also contribute to the Chinese food restaurants’ business. Almost every Chinese food restaurant offers lunch specials to bring in local businessmen during their lunch breaks. Borchardt says weekends are the most important times for a restaurant to do business, so several of the Chinese food res taurants offer weekend all-you-can- eat specials to bring in A&M stu dents as customers. All but two of the Chinese food restaurants serve beer and wine, and the Imperial Chinese Restaurant has a full bar. Borchardt says alcohol sales often make up about 15 to 25 percent of a restaurant’s income and those serving alcohol usually do bet ter than those that don’t. All of the Chinese food restau rants in town are locally owned by people who have experience in the restaurant business. Borchardt says several other restaurants are owned by people in other cities who hire in experienced managers to run the business locally. Borchardt adds that the Chinese food restaurants are run economi cally and there is little waste of food. For the most part, Lee says, the Chinese food restaurants are doing about the same amount of business as the other restaurants, but are able to hold on because they have a smaller employee overhead and are managed better. The Chinese food restaurants are not immune to bad business. Two of the older Chinese food restaurants, the China Restaurant and the Tokyo Steak House, closed in 1985. The China Restaurant has no plans to reopen and no one asso ciated with the Tokyo Steak House could be reached for comment. Borchardt predicts the restaurant businees in Bryan-College Station will adjust to the economic situtation soon and that there will be fewer res taurant openings and closings. A&M prof named as new president atA&M-Galveston By Lee Schexnaider Reporter Dr. William J. Merrell was named the new president of Texas A&M at Galveston by Chancellor Perry L. Adkisson at the Galveston campus on Friday. Merrell is a professor and graduate of the oceanography department at A&M in College Station, and, as one of the asso ciate directors of the National Sci ence Foundation, is in charge of the foundation’s $500 million-a- year oceanographic and atmo spheric progams, Adkisson said. Merrell will replace Dr. Sammy Mehedy Ray, who took over as in terim president in January after former president Dr. William H. Clayton retired. Adkisson said Merrell will take over in September. Merrell will take over a univer sity that has been in danger of be ing closed several times in recent years because of the poor health of the Texas economy. But he reassured the audience of students and faculty that A&M-Galveston will remain a vi able institution. “I can promise you I’m not coming here to shut this place down,” he said. “The Texas A&M University System is quite serious about building excellence here. “I wouldn’t come down here unless I was convinced of that. I am convinced of it.” Merrell will take over in the midst of turmoil over the survival of the institution’s undergraduate program. Adkisson said the undergrad uate programs could be altered because of the possible restruc turing that could follow the estab lishment of a proposed research institute at the Galveston campus. The institute would be a con sortium of A&M, the University of Texas and the University of Houston, and would conduct ma rine-related research. It would be similar to pro grams at the University of Cali fornia’s Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. “The Texas A&M Univer sity System is quite serious about building excellence here. I wouldn’t come down here unless I was convinced of that. ,, — Dr. William J. Merrell Adkisson said the other major problem at the campus is the cost effectiveness of low enrollments in such a specialized university. “You cannot support a four- year university on 400-and-some students,” he said. Dr. Robert O. Reid, head of the A&M oceanography depart ment in College Station, said Merrell is a very energetic and outgoing individual. “He gets things done,” he said. Ray said Merrell was responsi ble for bringing the $30 million- a-year Ocean Drilling Program to A&M from the University of Cali fornia’s Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Adkisson said Merrell is one of the most respected people in the NSF. “We’re proud of the things he’s accomplished because he’s brought a great deal of honor and recognition to Texas A&M,” he said. Interfraternity Council Presents GREEK WEEK 1987 DATES: MARCH 2-7 ALL WEEK: MALL-MANIA Discounts for Sorority and Fraternity Members at Participating Post Oak Mall Stores. TUESDAY: LETTERS Wear your letters to show your pride in belonging to A&M’s largest group of organizations. SCAVENGER HUNT 3:30 p.m.. Rudder Fountain. FASHION SHOW 7:00 p.m.. Post Oak Mall One member of every Fraternity/Sorority will get to participate in a fashion show sponsored by Post Oak Mall. WEDNESDAY: PIN DAY t MSC DISPLAY Greeks will display Chapter Memorabilia in the Memorial Student Center. V RELAY RACE Hourly, beginning at 9:00 a.m., Rudder Fountain. Torch and Toga Race through Campus. HALL OF FAME GOES GREEK! 8:00 p.m. THURSDAY: MSC DISPLAY GREEK GODS AND GODDESS CONTEST (Before Movie) GREEK NIGHT AT THE MOVIES ANIMAL HOUSE Dress: TOGA! Where: The Grove Time: 7:30 p.m. WOODSTONE OPEN HOUSE (After Movie) FRIDAY: MSC DISPLAY ALL GREEK PICTURE & AWARDS CEREMONY 3:00 p.m.. Systems Building.