If you ever find yourself in the mood for Thai food and you’re in the greater Victoria area of Canada, Rod Jiang owns a couple of restaurants you do not want to miss. Not only have customers ranked them number one for their food in the area, but some of their more popular meals have found their way to store shelves.
I guess you could say Thai food is in Rod’s blood. He was born in Thailand, and he moved to North America 16 years ago. At the time, the Thai restaurants in his area were very traditional with Western influences. He decided it was time for something a little different, and he created the Little Thai Place.
I recently had the opportunity to ask Rod a few questions about his business and his new line of in-store products.
Tell us a little about Little Thai Place.
Little Thai Place Restaurants offer authentic, affordable Thai cuisine in the Greater Victoria area. Our restaurants have a casual atmosphere, yet offer the highest-quality most authentic Thai cuisine prepared by highly-trained Thai master chefs. We pride ourselves in always offering an authentic Thai experience, through efficiency, honesty and delivering outstanding products and services.
What inspired it?
I grew up in Thailand and relocated to North America 16 years ago, at which time I was running a successful import business, specializing in Thai-made furniture. When I moved to Victoria, with my wife and brother-in-law, we decided to open our first restaurant.
Existing Thai restaurants during that time were traditional—formal and expensive dining places where food was cooked with Western inspired flavours. We wanted to introduce a new concept.
We were successful even in the crowded Asian food market, I think, in part because of our generous portions and our authentic Thai cuisine. We value our customers and endeavour to make their experience with us as authentic as possible.
When did your first restaurant launch? How long did it take for you to grow from your first location into all the locations you currently have?
Our first restaurant opened in 2003, and since we have opened three more locations, with our last one opening in 2010. It has been a steady increase over the seven years it took to go from one restaurant to four. Even during the tough economic times, the restaurants have flourished and have a loyal following.
When did you decide to turn some of your meals into kits sold through stores?
We had this concept back in 2007 and it took us 3 1/2 years to prepare and launch in May 2011. We wanted to make it easier and more affordable for people to enjoy our authentic Thai cuisine. Most people these days are very busy and don’t always have the time to cook a nutritious meal.
Our goal at the Little Thai Place Restaurants has always been to make Thai food delicious, nutritious, affordable and accessible. We have achieved that in Victoria in our restaurants and now we want to make it available to people in their homes.
What was the process of shifting from restaurant-only to restaurant and packaged foods entrepreneur been like for you?It has been a long and complicated process. We needed to do a lot of market research, test recipes and obtain approval from the federal food inspection agency. The recipes that our Thai master chefs created here in Victoria are reproduced in Thailand by carefully selected partner companies and suppliers.
It’s been quite a learning experience, but one that I can say has been well worth the effort and time put into it.
Where are they currently available? Do you have any plans to expand into other countries?
Three varieties of pre-cooked chicken and rice curry dishes are available at grocery stores, convenience stores and gas bars across Vancouver Island, including the Fairway Market and Country Grocer chains. We are in discussions to take the products nationwide later in the year and possibly into the United States.
You can find the current stores that carry our products at http://www.littlethai.com/find-store/
Do you have any goals you’d like to accomplish in the next year or so?
We are working to add more products to our brand and also have target to have our products available across Canada by end of 2012.
What are some lessons your business has taught you?
I have learned it’s wise to be prepared and focused in business and to stay alert to what the competitors are doing. Also, I’ve learned that my customers appreciate my honest approach in doing business. I’ve always strived to offer them an authentic Thai experience at an affordable price through nutritious recipes prepared with the freshest ingredients by master Thai chefs. They have come to expect the best each time they visit a Little Thai Place Restaurant, and we deliver it to them, every time.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
For anyone who chooses to walk the entrepreneur career path, be aware that you will need to be a visionary person, have sound decision making skills, have good observation skills, and have good connections. Most likely you will fail the first few battles, so be prepared for that. It is just part of the game that will only make you a better business person. I personally like to think doing business is like fighting a war. You must have a great strategic plan with good execution one not just a dream. Basically, you must be able to translate your vision into a plan and then execute your plan well.
Do you have any advice you’d like to offer fellow entrepreneurs who are just getting started?
As I’ve always said, “prepare for the worst and expect the bestâ€. As long as you plan ahead, think of everything that could go wrong (and something usually does) and have a solution for problems that arise, you stand a good chance at success. Be persistent in your goals and dare to take educated risks when faced with them.