The Cupertino Courier
News
Marina Food deli gets a makeover to keep up with the competition
By Crystal Lu
In order to be more competitive, Marina Food, Cupertino's oldest Chinese supermarket, is remodeling its delicatessen and expanding its menu options. The deli closed Aug. 1 and is scheduled to reopen Aug. 28.
Steve Huang, president of the Marina Food Corp. and one of its owners, said the decision to remodel was partially a response to Whole Foods' opening a new, larger store on Stevens Creek Boulevard on Aug. 22.
"We value our competitors," said Huang. "They remind us to keep improving ourselves."
After the deli, Marina Food is planning to remodel its meat and seafood department in September and the produce department in November. Those departments will remain open all day while remodeling work takes place at night.
The deli will have several new features. Customers will be able to order Hong Kong-style noodle soup or porridge and watch a chef make it behind the counter. The steam table will display little plates of appetizers that can go with the noodle soup or porridge as well as Cantonese-style dim sum, another new item, in addition to more hot buffet dishes than the old deli had.
Beside the steam table, an open refrigerator will showcase pre-packed cold appetizers. Pre-cut barbecued meats in transparent packets and "mini lunch boxes" proposed by Michael Hsieh, the deli manager, will be kept warm.
Hsieh envisions small portions of gourmet food in lunch boxes for working professionals, especially weight-conscious customers. The pre-made lunch boxes will allow customers to grab and go rather than wait in line to fill a box with buffet items as they did in the past. The mini lunch boxes will target not only Chinese customers, who comprise about 90 percent of Marina Food's clientele, but also those of other ethnicities.
Hsieh said he got the idea of mini lunch boxes from Japanese supermarkets, and it's a Chinese motto to always "learn from the strengths of others."
He knows that Marukai, a large Japanese supermarket chain, will open a new store in Cupertino and become another competitor.
Huang recalls how Marina Food survived the competition with Ranch 99, a newer and larger Chinese supermarket chain.
Marina Food has four stores, all in the Bay Area. The oldest one opened in San Mateo in 1985. The Cupertino store, at 10122 Bandley Ave., is 16 years old and the second oldest in the chain.
Huang said one of Marina Food's success secrets is having a mom-and-pop store ambiance while being a chain market. According to Huang and Hsieh, the staff knows most of the regulars by face or by name.
Diana Chang and her family buy breakfast from the deli almost every weekend. The family came back recently from vacation and discovered that the deli had closed.
"Fortunately the downtime is in the summer," said Chang. "Many people are on vacation, so it doesn't have too much impact."
Chang added that she really likes some of the breakfast items, especially fried dough and soymilk, which taste like what she used to get in her hometown Taipei.
The new deli will keep all its breakfast items.
Hsieh had said he thought about having some of the breakfast items, such as swirl buns, delivered from the San Mateo store, but he gave up the idea for the lack of guarantee to keep them warm and fresh. Instead, Marina Food is having two "double-coupon weekends" in August to make up for the temporarily missing breakfast.
Marina Food has a "double-coupon weekend" every month, during which those who spend more than $100 can get a coupon worth about 20 percent of the bill.
