"Da Da Scallion Pancake" reopened less than a year ago and has closed again! Da Da admits, "My son is young and doesn't understand many situations, so he took some wrong turns."

Starting from April 1, the “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” shop located on Shimen Second Road bid farewell to long-time regulars. “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” recently issued a notice pausing operations due to an overall renovation of the building it is located in; the store will suspend business after it closes for the day at the end of business on March 31.

How was the “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” shop performing over the past year? Will there be any plans to open new stores afterward? In this issue of News Morning Post’s program “Shanghai People’s Living Room,” we conducted interviews on this topic.

Multiple factors combined led to the store suspending operations

Around 8:00 p.m. on March 31, a reporter arrived at the “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” shop on Shimen Second Road. The store was still open, and outside the entrance was Ah Da’s disabled electric scooter. Besides the staff, Ah Da Master Wu Gencun and his son, Xiao Wu, were also busy inside setting things up.

“Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” shop’s notice of suspended operations

At 8:17 p.m., a young woman who came running in the rain bought a scallion oil pancake—this was also the shop’s last order before closing.

A disabled electric scooter belonging to Ah Da Master was parked outside the “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” shop

At 8:17 p.m. on March 31, the shop’s last order before closing

That day was the shop’s final day of business. The staff moved some items into Ah Da Master’s disabled electric scooter. Since the items were heavy, Xiao Wu told his father that after getting home, he should be careful while moving these heavy things.

The staff moved some items into Ah Da Master’s disabled electric scooter

“Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” reopened on Shimen Second Road in late April of last year. By March 31, the shop had been operating for almost a year. Summarizing its operations over the past year, Ah Da Master said, “Overall, at the beginning business was okay, but later it wasn’t. The main reason is that the staff changed frequently. Many long-time regulars said that (the scallion oil pancakes) weren’t as good as when I used to make them.”

In late April of last year, “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” reopened on Shimen Second Road

Regarding why business didn’t meet expectations, Ah Da Master believed, “The main issue is that each staff member’s technique is different. Even though I guided them and taught them how to make it, everyone has different ideas and different ways of doing things, which led to the business declining later on.”

When asked about the main reason for the shop pausing operations, Ah Da Master said, “On one hand, the contract expired. On the other hand, the storefront property (the building it’s located in) needs major repairs. Under these circumstances, we just pulled out directly.”

Ah Da Master being interviewed by reporters

Ah Da Master has also been looking for a new location outside recently. However, he found that many storefront spaces can’t do heavy sit-down dining, so he can only search slowly for now and wait until he finds the right place before making plans to open a new store. He told reporters candidly that in his mind, a more ideal shop location would be near his home on Nanchang Road.

Ah Da Master sums up: the son took a detour before opening the new shop

Before the new shop opened, Ah Da Master’s company, Shanghai Yongcun Catering Management Co., Ltd., and Shanghai Hongwei Food Technology Co., Ltd., jointly initiated the establishment of Shanghai Bing Shu Enterprise Management Co., Ltd., with Ah Da Master serving as the legal representative. As the cooperation partner, Shanghai Hongwei Food Technology Co., Ltd. held 80% of the shares, making it the controlling party. In June last year, Ah Da and his son had disagreements because the cooperation partner opened three new “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” stores, signaling a cooling of the relationship with the partner and drawing social attention.

When asked about his current relationship with the partner, Ah Da Master said he is no longer in contact. “Running a business is like fighting a battlefield at a shopping mall. Because my son is young and doesn’t understand many situations, he took a detour and it also taught him a lesson.” Ah Da Master said.

Ah Da Master said that if they were to open a new store again, some equipment adjustments would be needed: “The stoves won’t be as big as they are now—they’ll be smaller. When making anything, you have to be meticulous and patient to make the pancake well.”

In August last year, “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” introduced a coffee category at its stores

Coffee has become a combination with snacks for many young foodies. In August last year, “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” introduced coffee at its store. Xiao Wu believed that the main reason was to add a bit more variety by expanding product categories, giving customers more choices. If they open new stores afterward, food and beverages need to be combined; coffee will definitely be included, and they might also add soy milk.

The “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” shop on Shimen Second Road is near Fengxian Road. Nearby is Xiwang Community. Xiwang Community was first built in the early 20th century and is a historical building. Lou Chenghao, a heritage building protection expert and former director of the archives office at Shanghai Modern Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd., believes there is a problem with the location of the “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” shop on Shimen Second Road: “When they opened the shop in April last year, I already had doubts. It’s a shop being requisitioned and relocated (the neighboring Xiwang Community is not moving), so how could they go open a new store? Recently I passed by—the shop door has no business.”

At noon on April 1, there were office supplies from an office company inside the building and packed boxes outside the “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” shop

At noon on April 1, Hu Bao Tan, an author of the Shanghainese-language novel “Nongtang,” went to Shimen Second Road and noticed that the rolling shutter door of the “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” shop had already been lowered. Outside were many office supplies and packed boxes, likely items belonging to some companies inside the building. Next door, the Zhen Ding Chicken was also moving things.

Hu Bao Tan told reporters, “That Zhen Ding Chicken has been open for nearly 20 years. In the past, I worked nearby. At noon, either I ate white-cut chicken with scallion oil and tossed noodles, or I ate spicy meat with tofu skin from the street-level corridor overpass at Fengyang Road Nongtang.”

The notice of suspended operations for the Zhen Ding Chicken shop on Shimen Second Road

The reporter found that the Zhen Ding Chicken shop on Shimen Second Road has also recently posted a notice of suspended operations. In the notice, the shop stated that because the overall renovation of the building would take 1 month, the store would suspend operations starting April 1, 2026; March 31 would be the last day. Customers can go to nearby stores to eat.

Expert advice: Let craftsmen keep to their duty before seeking innovation

Jiang Libin, deputy general manager of catering at Eastern Airlines and a Chinese Culinary Master, has been specializing in noodles in recent years—“the bowl of noodles from Eastern Airlines” is something he and his team developed. He has always been paying attention to folk food and snacks. In his view, Ah Da is a product of Shanghai’s scallion oil pancake era; its peak is a double high point of both flavor and sentiment. Now the foundation is still there, but the quality has declined and the value for money has decreased—more like an internet celebrity of an old brand, no longer the god-level standard that was once irreplaceable.

Freshly baked Ah Da scallion oil pancakes (shot on the evening of March 31)

Regarding the development of “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” over the past year, Jiang Libin believes that if a craftsman keeps to his duty, at bottom it means not being opportunistic and not cutting corners—treating the work in his hands as the foundation for making a living. Don’t deceive with materials; don’t be careless with procedures. Don’t cut corners just because of short-term gains. And don’t get flustered just because the outside world is noisy. Craftsmanship has never been built on a moment of hype, but on long-term steadiness. If you do every item you handle with a clear conscience, your craft naturally carries weight, and the person naturally stands firmly.

For the future of “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake,” Jiang Libin personally offered four suggestions: first, keep to your duty. Turn “old tastes” into stable, standardized ones. Second, control risk. For small businesses, prioritize “staying stable.” Third, make micro-innovations. Combine the old base with new demands without feeling out of place. Fourth, continue the tradition for generations. Move from a self-employed household toward a “quasi-old brand.” In one sentence: keep to your craft duty, maintain profitability at the single-store level; adapt to young people through micro-innovations, and slowly build it into a “small old brand” passed down generation to generation.

Interview follow-up: Hoping Ah Da can restart production and open a new store

In April last year, “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” moved from Old Luwan to Jing’an, which once sparked heated public discussion and also triggered a queueing craze. For various reasons, after operating for about a year, “Ah Da Scallion Oil Pancake” suddenly announced the store had “shut down for the night.” Naturally, there were gains and losses involved in this. How do we meet the public’s needs? How do we connect with capital? Capital chases profit—it wants speed and scale, which would turn scallion oil pancakes into fast-moving consumer products. What the public wants is a match between taste and price: delicious but not expensive, and with the old flavors from childhood. Naturally, there will be conflicts. In addition, most small shops don’t own the property, which is a pain point in sustained operations. After talking with Ah Da Master, he still hopes his son can carry on the scallion oil pancake tradition. Ah Da Master believes that through the ups and downs of this past year, he hopes his son will learn the lesson and understand how to do this business after this. A small scallion oil pancake—doing it well isn’t easy. We also hope Ah Da and his son, after this round of adjustments, can restart and open a new store.

Source: News Morning Post, reporter Yan Shanshan

Source: News Morning Post