More than a store

"But they have different shopping habits from foreigners."

Expatriates usually arrive with shopping lists and buy enough groceries to last a week. Chinese, on the other hand, tend to visit more frequently and buy less at a time.

Lu Qi envisions Jenny Lou's as something more than a shopping spot and aspires to offer more services.

"I hope our guests will dine at our place, wish to cook a meal like the one they enjoyed and buy the ingredients in the supermarket section," he says.

Consequently, he has kept the menu simple.

"Some of the offerings like sushi are selected because they're healthy or environmentally friendly."

He has designed the new branch to be multifunctional.

"You can sit here and eat snacks, do work, chat with friends or just enjoy a cup of coffee made with fine Arabica beans."

Lu and his parents invited some old-time customers－some have even shopped in their stores since 1993－to join them for the opening ceremony, which also celebrated the 25th anniversary of the company's founding.

Still, most of the store's customers are relatively new, like Brian Liu, who moved to Beijing in January to work as a model.