This National Day holiday, the dining sector maintained its sizzling momentum, with heritage-brand outlets drawing throngs of customers.
Leveraging steady reputations built on signature dishes while expanding consumption scenarios through innovative menu items, China Time-honored Brand outlets such as Tongheju, known as the "master of Shandong cuisine," Gulou Makai Restaurant, dubbed a "cultural celebrity salon," and Tongchunyuan, the foremost of the "Eight Great Springs," saw their popularity surge continuously.
The Tongheju Shichahai branch took over a hundred table reservations daily during the golden week, with customer traffic climbing more than 20% year on year; Gulou Makai Restaurant's hit sesame paste sweet pancake sold nearly a thousand pieces a day; Tongchunyuan Restaurant's "house signature" sweet and sour mandarin fish and clear-steamed crab meat lion's head meatballs were almost ordered at every table, while the innovative dish of pork ribs stewed with lotus root saw sales significantly higher than usual.
Heritage brands, combining "classic flavors plus new options" with a dual-driven strategy of online and offline channels, not only surprised consumers but also drove continuous revenue growth.
Offline Foot Traffic Stays Elevated as Online Orders Fill Up in Tandem
During the National Day holiday, offline dine-in activity at major heritage-brand outlets under Huatian Group kept rising, with locations in core commercial districts and near scenic spots fully booked and tables turning over constantly.
Family gatherings, reunions among relatives and friends, and tourists checking in became the main customer groups.
According to Guo Suhong, catering department manager at the Tongheju Yuetan branch, the restaurant had almost no idle periods during peak lunch and dinner hours, private rooms were fully occupied throughout, and the main hall buzzed with a steady stream of family diners, with scenes of elderly and children seated together visible everywhere, as waitstaff hurried to add orders and clear plates and the kitchen pass steamed with activity, creating a rich festive atmosphere.
Statistics show that during the National Day period, the outlet's dine-in traffic remained saturated, with a seating rate exceeding 300%, and table turnover at peak lunch and dinner times reaching four to five rounds.
The Tongheju Shichahai branch, adjacent to the Shichahai scenic area, saw more than a hundred reservations daily, with customer traffic up over 20% compared to the same period last year, as many tourists made special trips to dine there after sightseeing nearby.
Equally bustling were heritage outlets such as Gulou Makai Restaurant and Tongchunyuan.
A reporter observed at Gulou Makai Restaurant that dine-in waiting lines were constant, and the takeout window had even longer queues; its location in the Central Axis scenic area, combined with authentic flavors, made the outlet a popular dining choice for tourists, amplifying the city's vibrant atmosphere.
While offline traffic was hot, heritage brands' online channels also continued to see order surges, forming a virtuous cycle of "online traffic driving offline revenue growth."
During the National Day holiday, takeout platform orders and review-group-buy redemptions at Huatian's heritage-brand outlets grew significantly compared to regular days and before the holiday.
Among them, online perks such as cash vouchers at Gulou Makai Restaurant and discount packages and repurchase coupons at Tongchunyuan Restaurant kept drawing traffic, meeting local residents' demand for convenient home dining while also catering to out-of-town tourists' need for quick meals, allowing consumers unable to queue in person to unlock heritage-brand delicacies and broadening the consumer market in all directions.
Classic Dishes Cement Reputation as Innovations Unlock Fresh Vitality
Signature classic dishes are the core competitiveness of heritage brands and the key to retaining diners and stabilizing reputations during the National Day period.
A reporter observed at the Tongheju Yuetan branch that classic Shandong dishes such as糟溜鱼片 (sliced fish in fermented rice sauce), dry-fried meatballs, sanbunian, and scallion-braised sea cucumber remained diners' top choices, with high order and repurchase rates, almost ordered at every table.
At Gulou Makai Restaurant, classic dish sales also climbed across the board; "house signature" items like braised pork, Dong'an chicken, and spicy and sour pork tripe tips were highly favored, while sesame paste sweet pancake was a phenomenon-level item, with daily sales from dine-in and the takeout window combined nearing a thousand pieces, and freshly grilled lamb skewers selling over 600 sticks a day, winning over both new and old diners with authentic old flavors.
Tongchunyuan Restaurant, the foremost of the "Eight Great Springs," saw classic Huaiyang dishes such as sweet and sour mandarin fish, clear-steamed crab meat lion's head meatballs, braised shredded tofu threads, and stir-fried eel paste adhere to traditional techniques, with authentic tastes and quality on point, becoming the core drivers of orders at the outlet and fully showcasing the profound culinary heritage of the heritage brand.
During this year's National Day, dining at heritage brands was not just about "tasting memories"; multiple seasonal innovative dishes and autumn-limited new items made stunning debuts, not only expanding new consumption scenarios but also attracting diverse consumer groups such as young diners and parent-child families.
Tongheju's newly launched three innovative dishes—sea intestine rice bowl, crispy lotus root meatballs, and crispy lotus root fish slices—received explosive word-of-mouth; the sea intestine rice bowl featured rich sauce and flavorful rice, while the crispy lotus root meatballs and fish slices had a refreshing texture, especially welcomed by families with children and customers preferring mild flavors, with many customers taking photos before tasting.
Meanwhile, leveraging the "Huatian Honghu Fresh Lotus Root Festival," Tongheju's autumn new product of pink lotus root, lotus seed, and pork rib soup was almost "ordered at every table," with its sweet and gentle taste fitting the autumn season; many customers commented that "the pink lotus root, lotus seed, and pork rib soup is especially seasonal, and you feel warm all over after drinking it."
Tongchunyuan Restaurant's innovative dishes also performed impressively.
The outlet's pork ribs stewed with lotus root combined seasonal ingredients with traditional cooking techniques, balancing nutrition and taste, adding fresh flavor to classic Huaiyang cuisine, with sales far exceeding regular days.
One customer remarked after dining: "I thought heritage brands were just about traditional dishes, but I didn't expect the new items to be such a pleasant surprise."
From consumer feedback, choosing heritage brands is not just for a familiar taste but also for the festive atmosphere and consistent experience.
One family customer said: "It's crowded during the holiday, but heritage brands offer generous portions, so both the elderly and children can find something they like."
A tourist also commented: "After visiting the sights, having a meal at a heritage brand feels more like Beijing."
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