Scaling by Diversifying: The Noodle Express Story

Growing up, Jonathan Wu did not initially want to become the GM of his parents’ restaurant, Noodle Express: “As a teenager in Winnipeg, for a while, I wanted to be a pharmacist,'' he tells me. “I was passionate about the effects of medicine on the body. And then one day I pondered, what’s the best form of preventative medicine? It’s good food!”

“Mind you,” Jonathan continues, “Growing up, we weren’t always thinking about what we would eat. Sometimes it was if we would eat. So we were definitely taught the value of hard work. From the age of 12, I came in to wait tables, help cook, and translate for my parents. The produce seller, for example, only spoke English, and they couldn’t give him their orders in Chinese.” 

Like lots of children when asked to help their parents out, Jonathan didn’t immediately see the upside: “At the time, I really didn’t want to come and speak to accountants or lawyers. I wanted to hang out with my friends. But now I look back on those times and realize that I was not just talking and listening. I was developing my own business acumen.”

Years later, this wealth of knowledge served Jonathan particularly well, when the pandemic hit: “Our first shutdown here was in March 2020, and we had just joined DoorDash the month before. Prior to that, we didn’t offer delivery.” 

At this point, the family had been in business for 12 years, offering dine-in and pick-up only. Jonathan continues: “Within a very short amount of time of the authorities announcing that COVID-19 was spreading, our gross sales for dine-in and pick-up dropped to half of our projections. That meant we would have to cut some staff hours because we just couldn’t shoulder this. And that’s when I made the decision to tell my parents we would join DoorDash.” 

“The reason we weren’t on any delivery apps before was that we really didn’t need them. We were able to achieve our volume targets with the great customer base we already had. With the pandemic, however, quite a few people were worried to go out and pick up food. And at the same time, we started to see others grow more comfortable with the idea of delivery.”

Now, some of the most popular items for delivery from Noodle Express include pork dumplings (siu mai, above) and fried shrimp dumplings (har gok).  Siu mai is one of the staples of dim sum, a morsel of juicy ground pork wrapped in a thin egg wrap, packed with flavor that keeps you coming back for more. The fried har gok is also a staple in dim sum cuisine, a shrimp and ground seafood mix wrapped in an egg wrap. Jonathan calls it the best of both worlds, a lightly crunchy exterior followed by a soft flavor-packed bite of seafood to follow. Traditionally it’s served with a mayonnaise-based sauce on the side, giving a hint of tang and sweetness that compliments the savory notes.

Noodle Express was recognized in our Most Loved program, which launched earlier this year. Less than one percent of restaurants on DoorDash achieve this status, which recognizes food quality, service, reliability, and the overall experience. Of the first top 50 recognized in Canada, there are only three in Winnipeg, a city that still dominates the economy of Manitoba. Businesses like Noodle Express accomplish this by meeting or exceeding monthly performance goals, including low cancellation rates and high customer ratings. 

But despite the years of hard work Jonathan’s family has put into the business, making the Most Loved list actually came as a surprise to them! Jonathan picks up the story: “Honestly, until I dug deeper and opened the box that arrived, I thought this might be one of those awards that every restaurant gets, at some point. But then I saw why we made the top 50 on DoorDash in Canada, and I realized, okay this is actually something special!”

Beyond the statistics, Jonathan shares why he believes Noodle Express rose to these heights: “I think it’s partly about being authentic, in the food and the people who serve it. We often see customers returning on DoorDash, and then we include something extra in their order to show how much we appreciate them coming back. But also, it’s the wonderful team we have, and that we serve authentic Chinese food, with a combination of mainland and Hong Kong influences. All the flavors are made in-house, from sauces to seasonings. My father, the chef, tastes and tests everything while it’s prepared, and he can detect the smallest difference in the results.”

When it comes to the future, for both Noodle Express and its sister business, Sam Po Dim Sum Restaurant, Jonathan has learned some valuable lessons in the last few years: “When you’re talking about scaling, you have to diversify. You have to generate more avenues for revenue. Dine-in and pick-up are what we were known for, but the way you respond to an event like the pandemic can change the whole course of your business.  Now, on top of delivery, we also do some distribution for the Save on Foods grocery store in Winnipeg. All of this brings more exposure for our company.”

Jonathan’s story is proof that hard work really pays off, even from a young age when we might not be sure of our career paths. That’s part of the legacy he hopes to leave behind one day. Noodle Express is also one of the restaurants championed by our Winnipeg-based Strategic Merchant Lead for Western Canada, Jay Postma. And if you’re living in or traveling through Winnipeg, or Western Canada, I recommend following Jay on LinkedIn, for his tips on great places to eat! 

I wrote about another of Canada’s Most Loved restaurants, Kokomo, in Vancouver, in August. If you want to discover the rest of the top 50, you can find them here. 

I’ll be back in a couple of weeks, with the story of how staff at Charles Schwab are leveraging our DoorDash for Work solution across America, to unlock more savings on food, at work and at home.