For some restaurant owners, COVID-19 wasn’t all gloom and doom. For Chow Main‘s Austin Wong, the statewide shutdown gave him the time to step back and assess how he was operating his business. After closing the downtown Asian fusion restaurant for a month, he reopened this past July with a new vision for the lunch spot.
The 27-year-old went back to the drawing board and changed the menu, hours and restaurant branding. Now, Chow Main has a younger, more modern feel. The branding is inspired by anime characters, Chinese culture and the ‘90s film Wayne’s World.
225 Dine sat down with Wong at one of his favorite downtown eateries, The Vintage, to catch up over beignets and talk about Chow Main’s new menu.
What have you been up to since we last spoke in 2018?
“When I first met you, [Chow Main] was like an Asian Chipotle. It was bowl-based. I was trying to do way too much. Up until the quarantine, I was learning from my mistakes. I closed Chow for a month, reopened and rebranded. And people are loving it. I have regulars who come in once or twice a week to literally get the same thing. So I’m very content with everything right now.”
How has your menu changed since you opened?
“I have a simpler menu now. It’s more efficient. Before I had two woks and was cooking for 70-80 people on any given day between the hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. I was in way over my head initially.”
What encouraged you to tweak the menu and restaurant branding?
“Since COVID-19, downtown is kind of like a ghost town. All of the state employees haven’t fully returned to work, so it’s been a good time for self-reflection. I stopped caring what everybody thinks and started operating to my own beat. I thought to myself, ‘What’s travel-friendly? What’s quarantine-friendly?’ And for me, that was sandwiches, soup and chicken wings.”
Read the full Q&A with Wong from the latest edition of 225 Dine. Subscribe to the free e-newsletter here to keep up with Baton Rouge food and events.
