CEO Albert Yang On Taking Din Tai Fung’s Precision Coast to Coast
Observer · · g5128581
The 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honoree reflects on how the chain scaled up without cutting corners, what opening in New York taught him and where, other than Din Tai Fung, he'd take his toughest critic for dinner.
Albert Yang is opening restaurants in North America faster than ever, but he’s quick to point out Din Tai Fung’s standards haven’t changed. “Every xiao long bao is made to exact specifications,” the CEO told Observer: 18 folds and a weight of 21 grams. “Achieving that consistency across every restaurant takes an enormous investment in training and craftsmanship… and we’ve found a way to accelerate the learning curve without compromising the craft.”
In 2024, the company opened two restaurants in the U.S., then two more North American locations—in Santa Monica and Vancouver—in 2025. This year, Din Tai Fung opened three: Irvine in March, Scottsdale in April and Brea in August. The Taiwan-born chain now has 21 locations across California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, New York and British Columbia. The Brooklyn Din Tai Fung will open its doors in late spring or early summer of 2027, with Chandler and Topanga to follow in the fall.
Din Tai Fung’s U.S. locations averaged $27.4 million each in 2024, the highest of any U.S. chain, according to Technomic. Yang credits accessibility and the aforementioned consistency. Locations are hard to find because a full Din Tai Fung needs 10,000-20,000 square feet in a place that already draws crowds, and Yang says the company will wait years for the right space rather than settle. The 25,000-square-foot Manhattan flagship at 1633 Broadway was a test, and Yang treats its success as proof that the model can make it on the East Coast. The forthcoming Brooklyn location on the ground floor of The Brook is close enough to Manhattan that experienced staff can move between the two restaurants.
The 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honoree spoke with Observer about how the chain scaled up without cutting corners, what opening in New York taught him and where, other than Din Tai Fung, he’d take his toughest critic for dinner.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Din Tai Fung opened more restaurants in North America this year than ever before. What changed that let you speed up?
We’ve spent years building the infrastructure to grow the right way: investing in our people, leadership, training, systems and production capabilities. This year, we opened three restaurants—in Irvine, Scottsdale and Brea—while upholding the same level of quality for guests and maintaining the memorable guest experience that we are known for. People love to say that growth kills quality. We’d rather prove that exceptional quality and growth can go hand in hand.
At Din Tai Fung, opening more restaurants is not the win. Opening more restaurants and getting better at what we do is the win. We have no intention of lowering the bar just because we’re raising the number of locations.
How do you choose a location? What does a mall or neighborhood need to have before you’ll open there?
Din Tai Fung typically requires 10,000-20,000 square feet to deliver the full experience, and finding that kind of footprint in a prime location is no small feat. Beyond the real estate itself, we look for places with energy, community and established foot traffic—destinations where people already want to spend time, whether they’re shopping, dining or meeting friends.
That combination is hard to find, so we’re willing to be patient. Sometimes we’ll wait years for the right space. We’re not going to force a location just because the real estate is available or the market looks attractive on paper. A great address means nothing if we can’t deliver a great experience inside it. We don’t compromise the concept to fit the real estate. We find real estate that can live up to the concept.
Your restaurants average more than $27 million a year each. What makes that kind of volume possible, and what’s the hardest part to maintain?
I believe the volume comes down to two things: accessibility and consistency. Our average check is around $45 per person, which we believe represents exceptional value for the ambiance, hospitality and craftsmanship we deliver.
Keeping prices accessible while paying our team members well above market rates isn’t easy. We work tirelessly to operate more efficiently to try to refrain from passing cost increases on to our guests. We want Din Tai Fung to feel special without making it an occasion people can only afford once in a while.
The real challenge, though, is consistency at scale, which as we continue to grow, I’m proud our team has been able to successfully maintain. Each restaurant has roughly 200-500 team members and handcrafts approximately 10,000 xiao long bao every day. That’s millions of opportunities across our restaurants to get the details right—and every single dumpling has to meet the same standard.
The Manhattan flagship is 25,000 square feet. Why go that big, and what did New York teach you that the West Coast restaurants didn’t?
I still remember visiting New York during COVID. It felt like a movie set. We walked through Times Square and rode the subway, and both were completely empty. It was surreal to see a city that normally runs at full throttle come to a standstill.
We were confident in the experience we could deliver, and in a city as populated and dining-obsessed as New York, we knew we needed the capacity to welcome as many guests as possible without creating impossibly long waits. When the perfect location presented itself, we knew that with hard work and dedication, we had to jump on the opportunity.
But the bigger challenge was everything we didn’t know. This was our first restaurant outside the West Coast, and many of the team members who joined us had never even heard of Din Tai Fung. We were opening a massive restaurant with more than 500 team members, thousands of miles from home, in one of the most competitive dining markets in the world. There were many learning curves, especially being in a new market, yet our commitment to excellence allowed us to uphold our signature dining experience.
That opening taught me that if we could bring together a team, build a culture and deliver the Din Tai Fung experience under those circumstances, we could take on just about anything. New York wasn’t simply a bigger restaurant. It was proof that what we’d built could travel.
Why did you choose Brooklyn for your second East Coast location?
Brooklyn is our second East Coast location for two big reasons: the space itself is exceptional, and its proximity to our Manhattan restaurant gives us an operational advantage. Being close enough to transfer experienced team members between the two restaurants helps us support the opening and maintain the standards our guests expect.
We’re opening on the ground floor of The Brook, and honestly, every time I see the space, I get chills down my spine. It’s truly special, and I can’t wait for our guests to experience Din Tai Fung in such an incredible setting. When we find a space like this, we jump. These are the kinds of locations that elevate our brand and allow us to introduce even more guests to the vibrant world of Taiwanese cuisine and culinary arts through our modern Din Tai Fung dining experience.
Whose restaurant would you take your toughest critic to, other than your own?
Sushi Gen in Los Angeles. My family has been going there since I was a kid, and the Toyoshima family has always been incredibly welcoming. They’ve been wonderful ambassadors for the community, and there’s something so simple yet so special about their restaurant (something I really appreciate and relate to). You really can’t go wrong there.
See all of Observer’s 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honorees.