🎧 From Fuzhou to Fairfax: How Kashawn and Ke Yu Chen Built Chin Chin Cafe Into a 27-Year Community Institution

Brothers Kashawn and Ke Yu Chen immigrated from Fuzhou, China in 1995 with no English and no roadmap. Kashawn started washing dishes at 13 to buy a bicycle he never ended up buying. At 19, the brothers pooled their savings, borrowed from their parents, and purchased a run-down Asian restaurant in Ashburn, Virginia. What followed was 22 consecutive years of month-over-month growth, a no-tipping policy, an all-day happy hour, live sushi catering, cooking classes for high school students, and $8,000 in free food for 30 local schools during Teacher Appreciation Week. Two brothers, one kitchen, 27 years, and counting.

✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:

• Migrating from Fuzhou, China in 1995 and learning English through school, TV captions, and community interaction

• Kashawn starting his first job at 13 as a dishwasher because he wanted a bike and his family couldn’t afford one

• Purchasing Chin Chin Cafe at age 19 with borrowed money from their parents when the restaurant was in terrible condition

• Going door to door with printed menu flyers to build awareness in the community from scratch

• Ke Yu going back to college and then to Payway Asian Diner and Panera Bread to bring corporate systems back to Chin Chin

• The COVID pivot: from full-service dining to fast casual with no tipping and all-day happy hour

• Running 12 to 15 drivers simultaneously at peak, delivering to 36+ addresses at once

• Launching a live sushi bar program for private events, country clubs, and golf clubs

• Feeding 30 schools during Teacher Appreciation Week with $8,000 worth of free food — every year

• Developing modern Chinese fusion cuisine: Peruvian chaufa fried rice, Coca-Cola chicken, honey sriracha dishes

🌟 Kashawn and Ke Yu’s Key Mentors:

• Their Father (Chef and Immigrant): modeled the restaurant trade and sacrifice of starting over in a new country without speaking the language

• The Chen Brothers’ Savings Habit: beginning with Kashawn’s first paycheck at 13, the discipline of saving a portion of everything they earned funded the business

• Chef Lu (Executive Chef): 30-plus years of experience and the creative force behind Chin Chin’s fusion menu evolution

• Payway Asian Diner and Panera Bread: gave Ke Yu the corporate systems, training structure, and operational consistency he brought back to Chin Chin

• The Chin Chin Community: generations of returning customers and local schools, teams, and families who have made the restaurant a neighborhood institution

👉 Don’t miss this conversation about what it actually looks like to build something from nothing — and why the Chen brothers have never stopped growing.

🔗 Connect with Kashawn and Ke Yu Chen:

Website: chin-chincafe.com

📤 Transcript Available: Kashawn and Ke Yu Chen on the All-Day Happy Hour, No-Tip Policy That Saved Their Dining Room

📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast

🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast

📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com