When most people think about Chinese family restaurants, they think of:
  •    quick preparation,
  •    poor and sometimes indifferent, if not rude, "service"
  •   makeshift or mismatched interior decor,
  •   shabby and often funky exterior appearance,
  •   located in slummy neighborhoods
Although their comments do not come from a "random" sample, postings on websites such as YELP clearly confirm these views of Chinese restaurant patrons. So why have they been so popular for so many decades?  Despite these problems, they survived by offering delicious dishes using fresh ingredients, although sometimes rather greasy, provided at low prices made possible by the low overhead and labor cost savings made possible by all family members working to make their restaurant a success. 

But while low priced meals gave Chinese restaurants a competitive advantage in the past, have they now 'trapped' Chinese restaurants and prevented them from charging higher prices because everyone expects them to be inexpensive?