Jia Guolong, founder and chairman of Xibei Catering Group, has quietly opened his latest venture, "Tianbian Casserole Braised Noodles," in Beijing's 798 Art District. The new restaurant commenced operations on February 13, with Jia finalizing its focus on the casserole braised noodle category by March 6. The brand is positioned with an average per-person consumption of 40 to 50 yuan and features braised noodles, a specialty from Jia's hometown of Bayannur in Inner Mongolia.
"Xibei will close some stores, and I hope this new brand can take over some of these locations and employees," Jia stated frankly. He emphasized that the Xibei brand will continue to operate, outlining a strategy where "some outlets will close, some will convert to the new brand, and a core number of stores will be retained."
Corporate records show that Inner Mongolia Xibei Catering Group Co., Ltd. has filed trademark applications for "Tianbian" and "Tianbian's Kitchen." Established in October 2017 with a registered capital of approximately 104 million yuan, the company's legal representative, chairman, and general manager is Jia Guolong. Its business scope includes catering services, food production, and online food sales. The company is jointly owned by Beijing Xibei Enterprise Management Co., Ltd., Jia Guolong, and other stakeholders.
This is not Jia Guolong's first attempt at launching a new brand. Before returning to Xibei in 2024 to resume his role as CEO of the main brand, he had explored fast-food concepts such as "Jia Guolong Chinese Burger" and "Small Pot Beef," aiming to enter the mass-market fast-food segment. However, these ventures failed to achieve significant scale and gradually faded from the market.
In a recent interview reported on January 25, Jia Guolong indicated he would return to frontline operations, focus on the core business, and no longer build a personal brand. He projected that cumulative losses for Xibei would exceed 600 million yuan between September 2025 and March 2026. The company plans to close 102 outlets nationwide in the first quarter, representing 30% of its total store count. According to the latest data from Narrow Door Eye, Xibei currently operates 331 stores across 59 cities.
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