With locations in Austin and Round Rock, including a fifth outpost that opened this year, Tso Chinese is a high-powered, tech-forward contender in Austin’s takeout and delivery space. Founded in 2017 by two married couples, the brand was an instant success, offering classic Chinese takeout dishes like General Tso Chicken, Sesame Chicken, and Mongolian Beef with Mushroom, along with other perennial favorites.
Other mainstays on the menu include Crowd Favorites like Tso Chinese’s World Famous Blue Crab Rangoons and Char Siu BBQ Pork Fried Rice. What we’re perhaps most curious about is the current monthly special appetizer, Pumpkin Spice Rangoons (try it while you can!).
Together with its in-demand menu, Tso Chinese has maintained its success with a constant focus on tech innovation, keeping abreast of the quick sea changes that have periodically rocked the restaurant world in recent years.
“When we started in 2017, there was no third-party delivery extravaganza yet, so at the time we had a fleet of our own drivers,” Jennifer Honeycutt, Business Operations Manager & Executive Assistant to the CEO, told What Now in a phone conversation.
As third-party delivery platforms like DoorDash and Uber Eats came to conquer the delivery space, Tso Chinese was intent on staying ahead of the changes.
“Now, 50% of our sales are done third-party. We do still find we have issues with customer service issues with the third parties, as we have no control over that. It was always going to be important not to be handcuffed by the combination of third-parties and other POS [Point of Sale] systems. So we decided to build our own POS system.”
In fact, the brand is about to roll out of the third version of its proprietary software, which Honeycutt says will be completely streamlined for third-party platforms.
“The tech is a huge part of who we are. I don’t know what restaurant has a CTO, but we do. We have a whole development team working on the software to improve on the customer experience the whole way through. Our customers have been happy with the ease of ordering online, and it also allows us to track a lot of trends, letting us pivot on our marketing strategy and menu.”
And tech isn’t the only thing that sets Tso Chinese apart, Honeycutt adds. Another important piece of the puzzle is its emphasis on the community. This approach takes the form of brand collaborations like the recent one with Black’s BBQ, which brought the area the killer dish Brisket Fried Rice. It has also led to Tso Chinese’s charitable arm, which has thus far given back about $600,000 to the community in meals and donations.
“It’s something we are really proud of,” said Honeycutt. “We’re local, and some people see we have a few locations and think we must be a franchise. We’re not. We’re locally owned and operated, and the most important thing to the founders is giving back to the community.”
And looking forward? What Now asked. What does the future have in store?
“Well, we opened our fifth location this year, and we are scoping out locations for our sixth and seventh, which will hopefully be opening in the Austin market in the next few years.”
Tso Chinese is specifically scoping out sites in Cedar Park and Pflugerville, so if that’s where you are, stay tuned for more Tso Chinese headed your way!
You can keep up with all things Tso Chinese by following @tsochinese on Instagram.
