China's Spicy Hotpot Billionaire Is Ready to Take on the World
- Haidilao pampers diners with free nail manicures, back rubs
- Chain’s 30% sales growth powers dream of taking brand global
China's Famous Hotpot Is Coming Soon to a City Near You
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Zhang Yong, the co-founder and chairman of Haidilao, one of China’s most successful hotpot chains, remembers his first time eating out. As a 19-year-old welder in Jianyang, Sichuan, it was exhilarating to escape the proletarian company cafeteria and dine in an actual restaurant, a rare experience for him at the time.
But the staff was rude and the hotpot didn’t inspire. Then came a twist of fate that would change China’s culinary history: Zhang bolted from his job at a state-owned tractor factory in a dispute over a company apartment for him and his fiancée. In 1994, he opened his first restaurant with just four tables.