It’s about noon in Moscow now. Unfortunately, I am not there 😦 My visa got screwed up so that I am not allowed in Russia until the 27th. Instead of risking a layover in a foreign country, my parents and I decided not to go. So, I’ll be posting on something completely different: the CASA team’s investigation of Shanghai.
A few posts ago, I talked about how the CASA team (Mrs. Peng, her husband, eldest son and first employee), with the help of Mr. Du, came to Shanghai to discuss the expansion of their charity (啄木鸟）and restaurant to Shanghai.
Since the dinner, the team had been hard at work investigating locations all over Shanghai- visiting possible locations, talking to owners and really doing their due dilligence
Their vision is to open an accessible but upscale western style pizza restaurant. Naturally, they visited some and even got to see some pros at work
Unfortunately, not everything was so rosy. They immediately ran into two big road blocks: Shanghai’s exorbitant rent and a proper location. Furthermore, in some locations, the managers wouldn’t even talk to them because of their lack of branding. There is certainly a big learning curve doing business in Shanghai, but the CASA team and the rest of us are determined to make it work.
I was not able to join them on their adventures, but I did get to meet with them for dinner before they left. We had a great discussion about their visit and her mission as a charity to help disadvantaged children.
It was great. They’ll be back next month for another investigation. I have full confidence they can make this dream a reality.
The Red-braised Twinkie 