A native of the picturesque town of Wanaka, New Zealand, Jade Gray has stayed in China through thick and thin, prevailing over the SARS outbreak to open up Beijing hotspots Lush, Pyro and, more recently, Gung Ho! Pizza Factory.
First things first. Is Jade Gray your real name?
Yes, it’s my real name! Actually, people always ask me if that’s my Chinese name, and I’m like no…that’s my birth name [laughs]. My mom gave it to me. She’s run a fashion business for the last 40 years, so I guess the question is whether it’s fad or fashion.
What first brought you to China?
I first came to China in 1996 to ski and practice my Chinese. Then I realized that in China, skiing is an expensive sport – more expensive than in most other places. So I took on a job as a ski instructor in order to finance my sport. I earned 500 kuai a month, by the way – I always tell my employees now that they’ve got it easy.
I got to live in a dorm with eight other guys; we were fed dumplings three times a day. But I had a blast, skied for free, and the upside was that because I was the only foreign instructor, all the rich guys who came to the resort would want me to instruct their mistresses and wives. Don’t ask me why. Then at night, they’d invite me to a restaurant, and feed me lobster and French wine. I was 18 or 19 years old, and at the time I was like, “Wow, this is pretty cool.”
That was the first of many gigs. I’d always planned on China. I did a degree in Chinese and marketing, and from day one, I placed my bets on China. I’d always traveled and wanted to work overseas, and I realized New Zealand’s future wasn’t Europe or America anymore - it was Asia.
How’d you go from ski instructor in rural China to business owner in Beijing?
I came here for my first start-up, a fitness center near the Beijing Language and Culture University. I bought into a gym that was going bust. That is what brought me to Beijing and it was the people that made me stay here. To me, Shanghai is like a well-tailored suit. It looks great, but I’m more of a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy. Beijing, to me, is like your favorite pair of jeans – it feels good and looks good and you don’t want to wear anything else.
What inspired you to open up a pizza restaurant?
Failure. I opened up a nightclub called Zub in Wudaokou. It was my dream project with kickin’ electronic music and micro drinks. It turned out it was a niche, and the kids wanted draft beer and hip-hop. In the ashes of Zub, I was determined not to give up. When I was a kid, my mother always had a woodfire brick oven in her house that we used to make pizzas. There was nothing in Wudaokou like that at the time, and kids wanted simple comfort food, like beer and pizza. So that’s when we started Pyro Pizza, and it just took off.
What is the concept behind Gung Ho! Pizza Factory?
Gung Ho’s about trying to get away with things, both in terms of flavors and styles. We’re not Italian, we’re not trying to be New York-style. We just are what we are. We think that we can bring in something those traditions can’t, which is New Zealand’s concept of fresh ingredients. That’s one big thing we also decided that if we were going to work our asses off to turn this business into a franchise in the next five years, we sure as hell better have fun with it.
I didn’t come to China to go through life slogging my guts. That’s why I’m an entrepreneur – I refuse to go into a cubicle. If we’re going to do a brand, let’s make it fun! We think there are local brands that are good, not so much international brands. Beijing’s sometimes such a dreary place, and we want to liven it up! What’s going to make noise and catch your eye? It’s pink! We’re going to ruffle peoples’ feathers with our marketing. We don’t want to offend people, but we do want to be cheeky and make people laugh. At the end of the day, if we can make people laugh, it’s much more fun than a serious, pretentious Italian place. It’s great if you’re doing that, but it’s not the vibe at Gung Ho!
We heard you also run a courtyard retreat by the Great Wall.
Yep, it’s an event retreat courtyard. I had a courtyard of my own up in Jiankou Village for eight years, and became somewhat of a local. Then they knocked my place down this year. I knew it was going to happen so I had a new place built from scratch. It’s a little too high-end for a holiday house, so we decided to do exclusive events up there.
The goal is to hold at least one event a month. It’s primarily a holiday house, but we use it as a retreat space as well. There are guys who rent it for the weekend with barbecues, but mostly we use it for corporate events and training. You can book it for yourself online at www.gunghoventures.com.
The second you shut the courtyard door you enter old China. This village has not changed in the last 2,000 years. They still eat all their own crops. I have a next-door neighbor who is 78 years old and she lives on an annual budget of 210 kuai. We call her Da Ma, big Ma. She’s like a legend, even though she’s only four feet tall. Her biggest expense of the year is medicine for 60 kuai, and after that is 50 kuai tobacco, which she rolls herself.
So what places keep you in the city?
I love any local Beijing hot pot joint that uses charcoal! I also really like Lord of Salt out in 798 and Duck de Chine and Migas. I also like to catch at show at Yugong Yishan and D-22, and shop at Lane Crawford, Casa Pagoda, and Panjiayuan.
Gung Ho! Pizza Daily 11am-midnight. Bldg 3, China View (rear side, opposite City Hotel), Gongti Donglu, Chaoyang District. (8587 1404/1370) 朝阳区工体东路中国红街3号楼 www.gunghoventures.com
Lord of Salt 天下盐 Daily 10am-10pm Inside 798, Dashanzi, 2 Jiuxianqiao, 798, Chaoyang District (5978 9623) 朝阳区朝阳区酒仙桥2号大山子 798艺术工厂
Duck de Chine 全鸭季 Daily 11am-2.30pm, 6-11pm 1949–The Hidden City, Courtyard 4, Gongti Beilu (6501 1949) opposite the south gate of Pacific Century Place Mall), Chaoyang District (朝阳区工体北路4号院 (太平洋百货南门对面)
Migas 米家思
Daily 10am-3pm, 5-11pm. 6/F, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District. (5208 6061)
朝阳区三里屯路81号那里花园6层
Yugong Yishan 愚公移山 Daily 7pm-late3-2. Zhangzizhong Lu (100m west of Zhangzizhong Lu subway station), Dongcheng District (6404 2711) 东城区平安大道张自忠路3-2号(地铁五号线张自忠路站往西100米)
D-22 Tue-Sun 7pm-2am. 242 Chengfu Lu (two doors west of 13 Club), Haidian District (6265 3177) 海淀区成府路242号
Lane Crawford Daily 10am-9pm. L130, Seasons Place, 2 Jinchengfang Jie, Financial Street, Xicheng District (6622 0808) 西城区 金融街金城坊街2号金融街购物中心L130
Casa Pagoda Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat-Sun 11am-8pm. 6 Sanlitun South Street (6591 5922) 三里屯南路6号 www.casapagoda.com
Dirt Market Panjiayuan 潘家园旧货市场 Mon-Fri 8.30am-6pm, Sat-Sun 4.30am-6pm. West of Panjiayuan Qiao, Chaoyang District (6775 2405) 朝阳区潘家园桥西边
Got something to say about this or any other Beijing venue? Register as a user at the Beijinger.com and post your review on our online directory.
frankly, objecting to someone's marketing campaign is both to be expected and also a welcome sign of the maturity of Beijing's restaurant scene.
Finally there is some differentiation -- it's no longer a "one pizza fits all" city.
Whether you like their marketing or dislike their marketing, Gung Ho is bringing something fresh and different to Beijing's pizza scene
Books by current and former Beijinger staffers
http://astore.amazon.com/truerunmedia-20
Two issues:
1- Your original point was not about Gung Ho's sexually charged/"juvenile" marketing, it was about how you wanted to read Da Ma-- thus rendering articles like this of no interest. Sure, we can discuss tasteful/tasteless advertising, but if risque marketing is your chief complaint about the place and its co-founder, dismissing all of his prior accomplishments because you're offended by his branding wasn't a clear way of expressing it.
2- This pearl clutching over GH's adverts is slightly absurd. Right or wrong, you go anywhere in Beijing and the advertising for restaurants, bars, clubs, clothing, etc. all lean towards the sexually charged. I find GHP funnier and more original than the self-serious "zexxy" background noise of CK or Suzie Wong ads. The latter offend simply because they are limp iterations of the same old.
As for MY mother? She'd high-five them. But that's 'cause my mama's ace and I don't feel the need to protect her virgin eyes when, quite frankly, it'd be like shutting the barn door after the ponies have all frolicked out.
There are people who don't want to see such juvenile slogans.Quote:
Quote:
Yes, there are. But they're a little more tolerant of the existence of such "juvenile slogans" these days.
To paraphrase a popular saying, this is China, in 2010. If you don't like it, try Pyongyang or Tehran.
Next time you drive around and see that cute little pink slogan point it out to your mum and ask her if she is interested in "12 inches of hot satisfaction". There are people who don't want to see such juvenile slogans. I don't know if THAT'S a right but it is a point. But of course this makes me a prude doesn't it?!
I love my planet Vulcan. I'm proud of being a Vulcan in the universe.
I think the marketing for GH is awesome. Love the pink and I love the team's style. If Jade has had "as many businesses as years in China" (actually untrue, since he's been here 10+), then at least he can lay claim to two of the most successful, longest-running ventures around with Lush and Pyro.
I clicked on this profile because I AM interested in reading about quirky, self-made entrepreneurs with a unique brand and perspective on doing business in Beijing. If you're looking for articles on Da Ma, what are you doing opening this one in the first place, let alone commenting?
...And as for fetishes, 12" of hot satisfaction isn't a fetish-- it's a right.
If you are interested in joining True Run Media, please feel free to contact our team.
