Case Study

Fan Tang x Chowly Platform

From Generations of Craft to Measurable, Profitable Growth

+56.5%

Increase in integrated online-order revenue

+32.5%

Increase in orders online

+17x

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) on Google Ads

“When we get really busy, I jump on the Chowly Platform and set 30/45/60-minute pickup times—then push it to every channel (DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats, our website) with one click. Guests know exactly when their food will be ready, so expectations are clear and nobody’s stuck waiting. That’s been a tremendous help and time saver.”

— Jason Zeng, Owner of Fan Tang, 2 locations in Albuquerque, New Mexico (expanding to 3 locations coming soon)

Introduction

Fan Tang is a modern Asian fusion restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico, blending nearly a century of family tradition with a forward-thinking approach to hospitality. Owner Jason Zeng represents the third generation of restaurateurs in his family—a lineage that began in 1940s China, where his grandfather ran a bustling restaurant through dedication and grit. After immigrating to the U.S. in the 1980s, the Tang family opened Chow’s Asian Bistro, a neighborhood institution that thrived for 35 years.

Jason grew up in the business—washing dishes, chopping vegetables, working the line—and later earned a degree in entrepreneurship before expanding his family’s concept into two full-service locations. By 2015, he saw the market shift: guests wanted speed without losing quality or care. He launched Fan Tang, a fast-casual concept delivering “high-quality food, quickly,” with a service twist: order at the counter, then enjoy drinks, refills, and table service that make it feel full-service at a fast-casual pace.

Today, Fan Tang operates two thriving locations—Nob Hill (UNM), serving students and neighborhood regulars, and Northeast Heights/Uptown, drawing older, more affluent families and office crowds. The menu is as distinctive as the model: award-winning Coffee Chicken (Best Chicken Dish in Albuquerque), Seoul Dumplings (tofu + kimchi with nut pesto), rich Beef Noodle Soup, fiery Firecracker Dumplings, and General Tang’s Chicken, a refined take on General Tso’s designed for the American palate. Many dishes can be made vegan or gluten-free, and a handful remain exactly as Jason’s grandmother made them—untouched, timeless, and beloved.

Jason runs Fan Tang with the same philosophy that made McDonald’s a global staple: consistency over novelty. He keeps his aesthetic stable—no holiday decorations, no seasonal themes—and introduces new dishes only when they meet his standards. He never runs promo codes or flash discounts, offering rewards only through his loyalty program, where guests earn 5% off after spending $100. “People should come for the food and the experience, not a coupon,” he says.

When the pandemic hit, Jason refused to close. To protect his team and keep families fed, Fan Tang pivoted overnight to delivery-only—growing 30–40% year over year through COVID. But the surge exposed cracks: multiple third-party tablets, manual POS entry, and no way to set accurate quote times. The business needed a single system to unify it all.

That’s where the Chowly Platform came in.

Challenge

As Fan Tang expanded, tablet chaos set in. Orders from DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub arrived on separate devices and were re-entered by hand into the POS—slowing the line and inviting errors. During COVID, volume spiked; without quote-time controls, customers couldn’t get reliable ETAs, and staff lost time firefighting tech instead of serving guests.

All of this played out in one of the most competitive restaurant markets per capita in the U.S., while ingredient tariffs pressured costs. Jason wouldn’t cut corners—he maintained quality ingredients, paid staff above-market wages, and refused discounting entirely. Protecting margins meant leaning into consistency, not coupons. Fan Tang needed one platform, fewer manual tasks, accurate quote times, and a strategy to shift business from third-party apps to owned channels—without losing focus on what mattered most: quality, culture, and guests.

“Chowly came in and took 75 tablets down to one printer overnight. That single change saved us a ton of time, space, and stress.”

— Phil Siddu, Owner of Nora Restaurant & Bar, Chicago, IL

The Shift

Step One: Integrate and Simplify. Jason turned to Chowly to end the chaos of manual entry and tablet overload. By integrating every third-party marketplace directly into the POS, his team regained time, clarity, and consistency. Orders flowed automatically, tickets stayed accurate, and customer wait times dropped—giving staff space to focus on hospitality instead of troubleshooting tech.

Step Two: Build First-Party Momentum. Once operations stabilized, Jason expanded into the Chowly Platform, adding tools for first-party online ordering, marketing, and Google Business Profile management. His new Chowly-built website featured real-time menu sync, upselling, and Apple Pay, while giving him the power to adjust pickup and delivery quote times across all platforms instantly. Customers always knew what to expect, even at peak volume.

Step Three: Scale with Smarter Systems. With Chowly’s digital marketing and visibility tools, Fan Tang began shifting traffic from third-party apps to direct channels. Within months, the restaurant achieved a 17× ROAS on Google Ads and saw significant increases in Google Business Profile interactions and store visits.

The unified Chowly Platform transformed operations from reactive to proactive—turning Fan Tang’s fast-paced success into a sustainable system for growth.

“We never closed during COVID. We went delivery-only and grew 30-40% every year. Chowly sent third-party orders straight to our POS and helped us move business onto our own platform with no fees.”

— Jason Zeng, Owner of Fan Tang, 2 locations in Albuquerque, New Mexico (expanding to 3 locations coming soon)

The Results

Unifying ordering through the Chowly Platform turned chaos into a repeatable system. Staff now focus on consistency and hospitality, not keyboards and tablets. First-party channels are growing, with paid demand paying for itself quickly.

Since implementing the Chowly Platform, Fan Tang has:

• +$16,370.97 in first-party online-order revenue in ~45 days (site + ads).

• 17× ROAS on Google Ads ($929.83 spend → $16,300 sales).

• Significant GBP engagement & Store Visits lift tied to ads once live.

• All third-party → POS; tablet clutter and re-keying eliminated.

• Real-time quote-time control across channels; fewer wait-time surprises.

• Surpassed six-month pre-Platform order average within three months.

• 70% of the business is takeout/delivery; first-party momentum building.

• Strategic goal: reduce DoorDash from ~$1M/yr toward $250-$500k, shift to owned.

• Targeting ~20% margins despite tariffs; no coupons—value via consistency and rewards.Two locations fully operational; brand, menu, and reporting remain consistent across both.

• Two locations fully operational; brand, menu, and reporting remain consistent across both.

“Between two stores we still do over a million a year on DoorDash. I want that down to half—maybe a quarter million—and the rest going direct through Chowly. That’s a win-win.”

— Jason Zeng, Owner of Fan Tang, 2 locations in Albuquerque, New Mexico (expanding to 3 locations coming soon)

Conclusion

Fan Tang’s two locations are thriving, and Jason is actively scouting a third. The Chowly Platform provides the control and clarity to scale without compromising service or quality. With integrated 3P, a high-converting first-party site, and live operations controls, Fan Tang is steadily shifting demand to owned channels while protecting margins. Site criteria for the next location are clear—high visibility, easy access, strong parking, right neighborhood demographics—and the playbook is set. The next phase isn’t just expansion; it’s disciplined evolution powered by a unified platform.

Key Takeways:

• Unified operations under one platform

• Shifted focus to first-party ordering and profitability

• Maintained culture and control across two growing locations

• Strong momentum toward reduced third-party dependence

• Expansion into a third location underway

Fan Tang x Chowly Platform

Key Takeways:

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