Café de Coral Holdings, Ltd. is a fast food restaurant group which owns and operates fast food chains and restaurants including Café de Coral, Super Super, The Spaghetti House, Oliver's Super Sandwiches, Ah Yee Leng Tong, and others. Founded in 1968, the Café de Coral group opened its first Café de Coral restaurant in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong in 1969. Since then, the group has grown to operate over 580 separate outlets across its brands all over the world. It is the largest Chinese fast food restaurant group in Hong Kong and in the world. In Hong Kong alone, it caters to over 300,000 people on an average day.
History
Founding
The founders of Café de Coral are Victor Lo Tang-seong -- brother of Vitasoy founder Lo Kwee-seong and Fairwood founder Lo Fong-cheung—and his nephew, Lo Kai-muk. Victor Lo had the idea of running a restaurant that would feed the working class of Hong Kong at affordable prices. He incorporated Café de Coral in 1968, and started to operate the first location in Causeway Bay in September 1969 at the age of 54. The chain gradually expanded over the next decade. In 1977, it started promoting its restaurants through TV commercials. In 1979, it established its first food processing plant in a move to lower costs and ensure consistency. In 1986, the Café de Coral Group went public. In 1988, it opened its 50th Café de Coral restaurant. The years after this would be marked by diversification when it went on a buying spree.
Acquisitions and expansion
In May 1990, Café de Coral made its first acquisition by buying out the Ah Yee Leng Tong chain for HK$14 million. A year later in 1991, it acquired The Spaghetti House, a popular chain that served HK-style Italian food. The same year, it opened up its second food processing plant. In 1992 it opened both its 100th restaurant and its first restaurant outside Hong Kong in the nearby city ofShenzhen. In 1996, Café de Coral opened up the first location of its new restaurant brand, Bravo le Café. Also in 1996, it acquired Scanfoods, a ham processing and food distribution business. In 1998, it started yet another restaurant chain called Super Super Congee & Noodle. In 2000, continuing its trend of acquisitions, Café de Coral acquired Denny's Bakery, a bakery manufacturing and distribution business in Hong Kong. Also in 2000, it acquired Manchu Wok, a North American Chinese fast food chain that had a strong presence in Canada and the United States. In the years following, Café de Coral also acquired China Inn, New Asia Dabao, and Oliver's Super Sandwiches. In 2006, Café de Coral began rolling out its "fourth generation concept" across all of its locations, effectively renovating many restaurants to bring them up to modern standards. In 2007, Café de Coral made an investment in the Tao Heung Group, a smaller restaurant group that operates 11 brands all over China and Hong Kong. In 2012, Café de Coral started another restaurant chain called MiXian Sense aiming to become leader in Hong Kong MiXian market. In 2016, founder Victor Lo Tang-seong died at the age of 101.
Brands
Café de Coral
Café de Coral is a fast food restaurant chain that serves both Chinese and Western food at a budget price. Established in 1968 in Causeway Bay, Café de Coral operates over 100 locations in the Hong Kong region and 24 locations in Mainland China. As of September 2019, there were 165 Café de Coral restaurants.
The Spaghetti House
The Spaghetti House is a specialty restaurant chain that serves Hong Kong-style Italian cuisine and is positioned as a mid-market chain that is family and tourist friendly. Established in 1979, The Spaghetti House operates more than 30 locations in Hong Kong, Macau and Southern China.
Ah Yee Leng Tong
Ah Yee Leng Tong is a specialty restaurant chain that serves home-style Chinese soup as well as a variety of cantonese dishes. It is also known for its XO sauce. Its restaurants, which average 250 square meters, fuse both traditional and modern furnishings and appeal to both locals and tourists. As of 2007, there is only one location – at the Hong Kong International Airport.
Bravo le Café
Bravo le Café is a quick-service restaurant chain that offers a mix of Western, Chinese, and Japanese food in a bistro setting designed to appeal to "young and upwardly mobile executives." There are currently three locations of Bravo le Café in Hong Kong – the International Finance Centre, Central, and Hong Kong International Airport.
Super Super Congee & Noodles
Super Super Congee & Noodles is a fast food chain serving congee and various noodle dishes. As of March 2006, there were 50 locations across Hong Kong, including two in Tsing Yi and one in Wong Tai Sin.
MiXian Sense
MiXian Sense is a specialty restaurant chain that serves its own special SiChuan Spiced Tomato Souprice noodles, with other choices of sweet Tomato Soup rice noodles and the classic Pork Bone Broth Soups and Sichuan Spice Soup rice noodles. First established in Ching Yi in 2012, it has now expanded all over Hong Kong in 16 locations and is planning to increase in branches across the city.
Oliver's Super Sandwich
Oliver's Super Sandwich was introduced to Hong Kong in 1987 and has been rebranded in 2012 by Cafe De Coral. This brand mainly serves freshly made sandwiches, light pasta and steamed potatoes topped with healthy mixes of eggs and salmon.
Little Onion
The Cup
360 Series
ZAKKA
Shanghai Lao Lao
Dong Dong Tei
Wage controversy
When Hong Kong's minimum wage law was passed in July 2010, Café de Coral raised its average salary from HK$22.4/hr to $33/hr to satisfy the law's requirements. However, during the process, it stopped paying its employees for lunch breaks. Their decision led to public backlash and the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions threatened to start a public boycott. Three days before the boycott was to begin, Café de Coral reversed its decision and resumed paying its employee for lunch breaks while still giving them the pay raise.
