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Brenda Wegmann
Miki Knezevic

Money Matters

Skimming for the General Idea

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Pan-Asian Cuisine Arrives in the Spanish Capital

MADRID, Spain—Alex and Miguel Chang were working as managers of their father's chain of Chinese restaurants when they decided to open Zen, Madrid's first Asian fusion restaurant. The Chang brothers had an entrepreneurial role model in their father, restaurateur and businessman Hsin-Chun Chang. Born in southeastern China, Mr. Chang, Sr. immigrated to Spain with his family in the 1970s. He opened his first restaurant, La Gran Muralla ("The Great Wall"), in 1979. He now has seven restaurants in Spain and one in Portugal, in addition to a number of photo developing and dry cleaning shops.

"We learned a lot from our father about running a business," remarks Alex. "He prospered like few other Chinese immigrants did at that time."

Chang Sr.'s restaurants flourished at a time when Chinese food was the cheap, popular alternative to the Spanish family lunch. However, by the end of the 1990s, the business started to decline as Chinese food was replaced as the affordable lunch of choice by fast food such as Burger King, McDonalds, or TelePizza.

Now that Spain is modernizing and Madrid is becoming more cosmopolitan, the Chang brothers have decided to build on their knowledge of American high-end restaurants and their familiarity with Spanish preferences. For instance, in Chang Sr.'s Chinese restaurants, La Gran Muralla, the food is altered for Spanish tastes. It is less spicy than traditional Chinese food, and uses Spanish ingredients not found in Chinese food in other countries. "Our advantage is that we've worked for years trying to adapt food to the Spanish palate," says Miguel. "We are bicultural. We mentally understand Spaniards because we grew up here, yet at the same time we have the authenticity of being from Asia and understanding Asian cuisine. We're not just another Spanish knock-off." "Opening Zen was a logical next step," said Alex. "In the U.S., pan-Asian restaurants and Asian fusion cuisine have been popular for a long time, but in Spain, restaurants were usually only Chinese, only Japanese, only Thai." The Zen restaurants serve a mix of Japanese, Chinese, and Thai dishes. In addition, the restaurants' interior design is inspired by Asian design and simplicity.

Along with crediting the education and luxuries they were afforded by their successful father (both studied business at American universities), the Changs note that coming from an immigrant background also helped them succeed. "In Spain, if you're not Spanish, you always stand out as different. Yet at the same time, if you're Chinese, you are lumped in the same category with anyone else who is Asian. There is a lot of racism in this country, but we wanted to use our 'differences' for a positive end." Added Alex, "You have to work five times as hard in order to succeed—I think being 'foreigners' helped give us a great work ethic."

So far, their strategy is working. They recently opened a new Zen restaurant in the business district of Plaza Castilla, and another, Zen Sushi Bar, next to one of Madrid's poshest hotels, the Inter-Continental. Meanwhile, other Asian entrepreneurs are following the trendsetters with their own pan-Asian restaurants which are popping up around Madrid in record numbers.



1

What are three factors that helped the Chang brothers succeed?