Xi'an Famous Foods facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | 2005 in Flushing, Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Founder | Jason Wang |
| Headquarters |
New York, New York, United States
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USA
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Number of locations
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15 (2019) |
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Area served
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New York City |
| Products | Shaanxi-style Chinese cuisine |
| Revenue | approx. $21M (2018) |
| Owner | Jason Wang |
Xi'an Famous Foods (西安名吃) is a group of fast casual restaurants in New York City. They serve real Western Chinese food. This family-run business started in 2005. It has been shown on TV shows like Food(ography), Eat Out NY, and No Reservations. It has also been written about in newspapers and magazines such as The New York Times and Forbes. You can find Xi'an Famous Foods restaurants in Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan.
The Story of Xi'an Famous Foods
Jason Wang is the CEO and president of Xi'an Famous Foods. His family comes from Xi'an, an old city in China. It has over 3100 years of history. Jason remembers the food his grandfather cooked when he was a child.
After Jason and his family moved to the U.S., they missed the flavors from home. This made Jason and his father want to make dishes using his grandfather's secret sauce recipes. They believed other people also missed the food from their hometown.
Before Xi'an Famous Foods started, Jason's father had a bubble tea shop. He also sold some food there. This shop was in Flushing, Queens. Jason was in college at Washington University in St. Louis. He came home during breaks to help his father.
They soon saw that their food sold better than the bubble tea. So, in late 2005, they moved their shop. It went into the basement of Flushing's Golden Shopping Mall. They named it Xi'an Famous Foods.
After Jason finished college in 2009, he worked for a company for a short time. But he decided to focus on his family's food business with his father. From then on, they kept growing their business. They opened more shops in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Jason and his father made and sold their special dishes. These included Liang Pi Cold-Skin Noodles and Spicy Cumin Lamb Burgers. They also had hand-ripped noodles. They offered a taste of home to their community. Jason told The New York Times, "We’re going to keep it pure, because that’s what people are coming to us for."
Where You Can Find Xi'an Famous Foods
The first Xi'an Famous Foods opened in late 2005. It was in the basement of the Golden Mall in Flushing, Queens. In August 2009, two more shops opened. One was in Flushing and one on East Broadway. But these closed because they were too small.
In 2010, Xi'an Famous Foods brought its food to Manhattan. They opened a shop in the East Village on St. Marks Place. It was very successful. Ten months later, another shop opened in Chinatown.
The company kept growing fast. By the end of 2016, they had opened six more shops in Manhattan. They also opened one in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. A sister restaurant called Biang! opened in the East Village, but it has since closed.
Their Long Island City, Queens location closed on January 9, 2020. This was due to a fire that started on the roof. Xi'an Famous Foods plans to open more restaurants along the east coast. They bought a large building to be their new main kitchen. The main office for Xi'an Famous Foods is in Manhattan. It helps run the restaurants and plans for new ones.
Xi'an Famous Foods in the News
Since Xi'an Famous Foods grew quickly in New York, many news groups have shared their story. In January 2016, Time Out named Xi'an Famous Foods the "#2 Chinese Restaurant in the USA." Restaurant News also called it a "Breakout Brand of 2016." After that, news places like Business Insider and NBC Asian-American shared the story of Xi'an Famous Foods.
