CEO Albert Yang making dumplings at a new Din Tai Fung restaurant in Santa Monica, California.
Photographer: Jessica Pons for Bloomberg BusinessweekHow Din Tai Fung Became America’s Top-Earning Restaurant Chain
The dumpling restaurant was started in Taiwan half a century ago. Now there are 17 always-packed locations in the US, including one in Disneyland.
Twenty-five years ago, a 19-table outpost of a popular Taiwanese restaurant set up shop in a suburban Los Angeles strip mall. Today—with 17 US locations and more on the way—it’s the top-earning restaurant chain in America.
Din Tai Fung, a staple of international and California dining that arrived on America’s East Coast just over a year ago, generates an annual average of $27.4 million per US location, according to industry researcher Technomic—almost triple what high-end restaurant group Nobu pulls in. Yet, when asked about it, Din Tai Fung North America’s chief executive officer, Albert Yang—almost too serious for his 32 years—humbly shrugs it off. “It’s definitely a proud achievement,” he says over a table overflowing with xiao long bao soup dumplings and other bite-size delights. “But it’s really not our ultimate goal.”