Jia Guolong, the founder of Xibei, is placing his full bet on noodles. Just yesterday, many netizens noticed that Xibei's first Shanghai outlet quietly underwent a rebranding, reopening as "Tianbian Casserole Braised Noodles." This store, which opened in 2008 as Xibei's inaugural Shanghai location and served as the starting point for its expansion in the city, has now become a model for Xibei's store transformation strategy. On the same day, Jia Guolong opened two additional outlets in Shanghai, marking the simultaneous launch of three new stores.
To date, Jia Guolong has opened 11 "Braised Noodles" outlets within just two months, indicating an accelerated expansion pace. However, negative reviews have emerged as expected. For instance, the first store, located in Beijing's 798 Art Zone, has a rating of 3.9 points, with over 20% of consumers giving it average or below-average evaluations. An industry insider pointed out that this rating is not high for a new brand, noting that since the store's staff are still Xibei's original team, who are familiar with review platform dynamics, the score reflects underlying issues.
The three newly opened Shanghai stores are situated in Jing'an, Pudong, and Jiading. The Pudong store on Dongfang Road spans more than 2,400 square meters and offers 350 seats, making it the largest "Tianbian Casserole Braised Noodles" outlet in Shanghai. Notably, this location was Xibei's first store in Shanghai when it opened in 2008. Over the following decade, Xibei expanded to approximately 70 outlets in the city. Seventeen years later, this landmark store has quietly replaced the Xibei signboard with the new "Tianbian Casserole Braised Noodles" branding.
The new brand focuses on braised noodles cooked in a casserole, a specialty from Jia Guolong's hometown of Bayannur in Inner Mongolia. Its core offerings include casserole-braised noodles and casserole soup noodles, complemented by side dishes such as marinated foods, casserole dishes, and cold appetizers, with an average per-person spending of around 50 yuan. Staff mentioned that the store just opened yesterday without any promotional activities, and while customer flow is decent, there is currently no need for queuing.
Regarding the team composition, staff revealed that the store operates with Xibei's original personnel, maintaining its service standards. When asked about prepared dishes, the employee explicitly stated, "These are not prepared dishes; our previous brand (Xibei) did not have them either." In contrast, the first Beijing store in the 798 Art Zone, which opened nearly two months ago, has seen stabilized customer traffic, with staff noting that lunch hours often require queuing.
When asked about differences between the new brand and Xibei, staff provided a straightforward comparison: "Many customers have asked this. In my view, they are completely different—service models and pricing vary significantly. Xibei's per-customer spending was relatively high, whereas this store averages just tens of yuan per person. Moreover, not all employees here are former Xibei staff."
Since the first store opened in February this year, the expansion of "Tianbian Casserole Braised Noodles" has noticeably accelerated. According to statistics, the brand has now opened 11 outlets in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Hohhot, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Xi'an. The expansion pace has been rapid, with 10 new stores opening within two months of the debut, mostly converted from former Xibei locations.
It has been observed that a Xibei outlet in Beijing's Hopesh Shopping Center recently closed for renovation, with signage already displaying "Tianbian Casserole Braised Noodles" branding. The store is also searchable on Meituan, indicating that Jia Guolong will soon open a second outlet in Beijing. Regarding future expansion plans, the brand stated that currently only one store is open in Beijing, with additional locations planned for Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hohhot, and other cities.
Ratings for the flagship store have already fallen below 4 points. Earlier this year, Jia Guolong publicly stated that Xibei's cumulative losses from September 2025 to March 2026 are projected to exceed 600 million yuan. He confirmed that Xibei would close 102 outlets nationwide, accounting for about 30% of its total stores and affecting approximately 4,000 employees. This marks a strategic contraction for the 38-year-old dining giant following last September's prepared dish controversy.
While announcing store closures, Jia Guolong outlined a transformation strategy: "Close some, convert some, and retain a core batch." He clarified that the Xibei brand would not be abandoned, with core stores continuing operations. The "convert some" strategy is being implemented through the new brand "Tianbian Casserole Braised Noodles."
According to business qualification information displayed on the Dianping app, "Tianbian Casserole Braised Noodles" is operated by Beijing Xibei Tenggeri Catering Management Co., Ltd. Tianyancha data shows that the company was established in November 2021, with a registered capital of 1 million yuan and legal representative Sheng Hongxiao. Its business scope includes catering management, prepackaged food sales, and catering services. The company is wholly owned by Inner Mongolia Xibei Catering Group Co., Ltd., with Jia Guolong as the actual controller, holding over 66% of shares.
Since the Xibei controversy, Jia Guolong has remained under public scrutiny. The launch of "Tianbian Casserole Braised Noodles" has similarly faced skepticism. Notably, ratings for multiple outlets of the new brand are generally low, with one store scoring only 3.6 points and most stores below 4 points. Many netizens have commented that Jia's prospects with this venture appear challenging.
An analysis of the first Beijing store in the 798 Art Zone reveals a 3.9-point rating based on 839 user reviews, including 44 negative and 126 average reviews. This means over 20% of consumers gave中等 or lower ratings—a significant proportion for a two-month-old brand. User feedback is polarized: some praised the "substantial ingredients and cleanliness" and expressed approval of Jia's new offering, while others criticized the lack of authentic braised noodle flavor, slow service despite apparent popularity, and portion sizes described as "the pot is bigger than the face, but the noodles are smaller than the hand."
Public records show that Jia Guolong has previously launched multiple sub-brands, such as Jia Guolong Chinese Burger and Xibei Small Bull Braised Rice, most of which had short lifespans and failed to achieve scale before phasing out. However, "Tianbian Casserole Braised Noodles" differs from previous ventures; it is not an attempt to create a "second growth curve" but rather a survival-driven "self-rescue experiment."
Based on current口碑 and ratings, the outlook is not optimistic. Consumer sensitivity to "old wine in new bottles,"挑剔 regarding price-value mismatch, and fatigue with Jia's "repeated attempts" are testing the new brand's viability. Whether braised noodles at 50 yuan per person can sustain a viable business model remains uncertain.
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