Given the opportunity, would you rather open a Tae Kwon Do studio in Santa Barbara, California, or a Chinese restaurant in Toledo, Ohio? It may or may not surprise you to learn that Mark Pi chose the latter and the first Mark Pi’s concept, China Gate, was launched.
Born in Korea to parents hailing from the Shantung Province of Northern China, Mark Pi traveled to the United States in 1972 to pursue the American dream. He used the culinary training he received in Taiwan to secure a job at Chicago’s Mandarin House Chinese Restaurant. After arriving in the US with $50 in his pocket and working diligently during that first year at the Mandarin House, he purchased the struggling restaurant and made it a success. He spent the next several years opening and selling restaurants in the Chicago area and after his wife and family (including Mark Pi Jr.) arrived from Taiwan, they eventually settled in Toledo.
China Gate, a full service restaurant serving gourmet Chinese food in a fine dining setting, was obviously a realized dream. With this accomplishment under his belt, Mark was compelled to further his dreams as he bought and franchised a number of other restaurants in the next few years. By the early 1990s, there were more than 90 Mark Pi restaurants in Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Colorado, California, South Korea, and India. Entrepreneur Magazine named Mark Pi’s China Gate the top oriental chain and Mark Pi’s Express as the best franchiser in Chinese fast food. “At that time, he was so fearless, everything he touched turned to success,” his son, Mark Pi Jr. said.
Mark Jr. remembers that time very clearly. “The biggest challenge was trying to keep up with my workaholic father. He worked eight days a week and 25 hours a day. Growing up, I didn’t see him unless I went to the restaurant or his office.”
The fact that his father was a workaholic didn’t stop Mark from joining the family business. In fact, he was told at an early age that he was expected to. “My first job was as a dishwasher when I was 10. Out of high school, I was my dad’s assistant and we worked side by side,” Mark said. There were also several other members of the Pi family that worked on the restaurant side over the years. While being related didn’t create any additional challenges, Mark said, it did mean that being able to communicate and understand everyone’s individual roles was imperative for a successful outcome.
Success meant growth and to support the growth of the ever-expanding Mark Pi restaurant chain, Sunrise Foods was opened in the early 1980s to function as a central kitchen. Today, however, with decades of experience in research, development and manufacturing of high quality Asian themed menu items, they’ve expanded their operations and now provide culinary products to casinos, hospitals, universities, the U.S. military and other high volume food service operations. Their offerings have become staples in thousands of popular food service venues across the country and around the world. The Columbus manufacturing and distribution center has 47 employees and is proud to supply independently owned restaurants like China Gate, Asian Diner, Express and Feast of the Dragon Buffet with the “Mark Pi’s” proprietary brand of products from Sunrise Foods.
According to Mark, “Sunrise began to grow very quickly and several other banks were unable to meet our needs. We reached out to Laurie Pfeiffer, one of Heartland’s Commercial Relationship Managers, after a recommendation from one of our employees. Because of Laurie’s knowledge and experience with small business, Heartland Bank partnered with Ohio Development Services Agency on their Collateral Enhancement Program and was able to finance us when other banks turned us down. Heartland Bank has been able to meet our banking needs ever since!”
The Mark Pi brand has been very successful. “My father told me from the beginning to spoil your customers and treat everyone as you would if they were a guest in your home. Our recipes haven’t changed much and the best advertising tool we have is the pride we take in customer service and quality,” Mark said.
The Pi family story is evidence that the American dream can be realized with dedication and perseverance. Both of these qualities are also part of the character of the Heartland Bank employee, who believes like Mark Pi that every customer should be treated like a guest when they visit their banking home. Stop in at any of our branches to experience Heartland hospitality… where banking feels good!