We must not give up. No matter how many crises there are, we can get through them. Unveiling the recipe for making fried pork shop, "Je Jong" in the era of the virus.

Although the situation has shown signs of improvement after the relaxation of measures for restaurants, it is still a challenge for restaurant owners. 'Jay Jong-Jongjai Kitsawang', the founder of the Je Jong Fried Pork shop, is part of the chain of this crisis. Since the virus started spreading at the beginning of the year until the summer when the lockdown and curfew were announced, Je Jong Fried Pork shop has continued to operate normally in all 12 branches, adjusting strictly to the situation and government measures. Je Jong has been constantly adjusting herself to keep up with the situation, as well as learning and looking for opportunities, until it became a new channel, such as selling rice at the back of a truck, which generates income for the unemployed and supports her own fried pork factory. It is an example of Je Jong's adaptation, an icon of a never-give-up fighter. This time, Je Jong has come to share her experiences over the past three months as a guideline for restaurant owners to use as inspiration.

Adapt quickly, change sales methods quickly, and make good profits. Auntie Jong's fried pork shop is still open as usual during the COVID-19 outbreak. It still sells well. There are always customers coming to choose delicious food to eat. Until it can increase income to tens of thousands of baht per day, which Auntie Jong said came from adjusting to the situation and changing the sales. The summary of methods is as follows.

1. Adjust the storefront Some of them had already been adjusted before the PM2.5 dust problem, such as making a cabinet for storing food. And after the social distancing measures were implemented, they were adjusted according to the government's measures, such as closing the zone inside the shop to prevent outsiders from entering, making clear lines to separate the distance between queues, creating queue cards to prevent customers from standing together and to make it more orderly. 2. Adjust the menu The rice and curry menu has been discontinued and only fried pork and fried food will be sold, as these are easy and convenient dishes to eat. 3. No layoffs Currently, Ms. Jong has to take care of over a hundred employees at 12 branches and the lunchbox factory. During the COVID-19 crisis, she did not reduce her staff in any way. Everyone still works as usual, except for some welfare reductions to be in line with the income in each part of the shop. For example, each branch will have a manager, and some branches with reduced sales will have their diligence allowances cut (but only 2 branches). Or Ms. Jong's lunchbox factory did not provide food allowances to employees in April, but when the situation improved in May, they did not cut it anymore. After the relaxation of measures to allow dine-in, Ms. Jong's fried pork opened for dine-in at 5 branches: Rat Burana, Bang Bua Thong, Watcharapol, Samut Prakan, and Theparak Km. 8. The other branches, namely Rama 4 (behind Lotus), Customs Department, Patpong, Sun Building (Vibhavadi), FYI Center, Samyan Mitrtown, and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand Head Office, are in the process of evaluating the situation for another month. In particular, the entire area of ​​the Rama 4 branch has been adjusted to accommodate lunchbox production, so cleanliness and safety must come first.

There are always new opportunities. A rice truck sale, a project born from a problem. Throughout April, after the lockdown measures, many people had to work from home, causing office buildings to be quiet. It also affected the rice box factory of Ms. Jong because the group selling in the office could not sell, causing sales to decrease for a whole month. Therefore, a new project, 'Rice Box Sales', was born. The rice box sales are another adaptation to the COVID-19 era and also create jobs for the affected groups. Ms. Jong added a channel to the motorcycle taxi group, taxi drivers, and market vendors by letting them come and pick up rice to sell in front of villages throughout Bangkok. She also provided advice on sales techniques, which Ms. Jong taught herself. It can be said that this is a new sales adjustment that benefits twofold, allowing Ms. Jong's rice box factory to resume operations again. Importantly, it also helps those in need to earn income, as they can sell 300-400 boxes per day, with a profit of up to 7 baht per box. Some people who have no cost can also come and pick up their products to sell first.

Recipes for restaurants to survive the COVID-19 crisis According to predictions from many sectors, it is still believed that COVID-19 may not ease anytime soon. Therefore, for restaurants to survive, it is essential to adapt to the situation. Ms. Jong has summarized her experience as follows:

“In the end, we have to get up and fight. We can’t just sit around feeling discouraged. I believe that there is a way out for everything. We have to try to use our wits. As I said, some problems require seeking someone to consult. And crises aren’t the only ones. When this crisis is over, there may be another crisis. So we have to look at crises as opportunities and as experiences, so that if something like this happens again in the future, we can teach our children and grandchildren what to do. And try to see how those who survived did it, because there are many examples.”

Doing business that thinks about society, sharing happiness from Je Jong's fried pork
While the Je Jong fried pork shop is open as usual and the lunchbox factory can continue to operate, Je Jong also looks to the surrounding society. She has joined the Chefs for Change project to deliver lunchboxes to doctors, nurses, and public health personnel to help them fight COVID-19 and to share with those in need in various communities. “P’Nui and Dr. Sirikan Laokaikul invited Je Jong to get up and make rice to deliver to the doctors and nurses, 1,200 lunchboxes a day. But the condition was that I had to pay for it myself. I agreed. When I did it on the first day, I posted it on social media, which caused people to start joining in donating money. Many people wanted to join me in making merit,” Je Jong distributed 1,200 lunchboxes a day, totaling more than 30,000 baht. The deliciousness was distributed to doctors, nurses, and public health personnel, as well as communities in more than 20 locations in Khlong Toei for 5 weeks, totaling more than 50,000 lunchboxes. This became the starting point for people to come and donate a total of more than a million baht. “Later, there were people who acted as a bridge of merit and came to pay for it. It turned out that they came to buy a lot of my lunch boxes to give away. They ordered 100-1,000 boxes at a time, which came every day. If they bought them to give away, they would charge a special price of 30 baht. Some people sent 200,000 baht and ordered them to give them away to the community, so they could come and get them and give them away themselves. Simply put, they bought my lunch and asked me to help manage it. We would have a team to contact the community president, and we would give away 1,000 boxes a day. In addition, Phi Nui said that many people had already gone to help the hospital, so he asked us to help the unemployed. Right now, we are thinking of helping bedridden patients, of which there are about 100.” “It’s like we are neighbors, living together. In the end, I think we have to live together with love. First, I shared during the crisis because I was concerned and loved them. In the end, what I got in return was that I believed that they would love me and be able to live happily together in society.”