Restaurateur Doubles Revenue Through AI and Digital Strategy, Launches Nonprofit to Empower Minority-Owned Businesses

Patrick Cheng, owner of General Tso’s in Dunwoody, GA, displays the restaurant’s signature fried chicken, now a staple in corporate catering menus.

Patrick Cheng reviews digital ordering data with a team member at General Tso’s, highlighting how tech tools have become central to the restaurant’s operations.

Patrick Cheng works alongside his kitchen team at General Tso’s, embracing both leadership and hands-on involvement in daily operations.

Patrick transformed a failing restaurant into a thriving catering brand using AI and digital tools—now he's helping other immigrant entrepreneurs do the same.

Digital Ready gave me the roadmap I didn’t know I needed. It changed how I run my business, and now I’m using those lessons to help others do the same.”

— Patrick Cheng, Founder of General Tso’s and NextGen Impact

DUNWOODY, GA, UNITED STATES, May 10, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- What began as a pandemic-era pivot has transformed into a scalable, system-driven business

success. Patrick Cheng, a Chinese-American entrepreneur, has more than doubled the revenue of his Georgia-based restaurant, General Tso’s, by integrating digital tools, automation, and AI-powered training into every layer of his operation. Now, he's launching a nonprofit to share that playbook with others.

In 2020, Cheng acquired a struggling Chinese restaurant in Dunwoody after the pandemic shuttered his short-term rental business. Leveraging his family’s background in food distribution and his own drive for innovation, he rapidly converted the restaurant into a high-volume catering operation.

“We were working harder, not smarter,” Cheng said. “We lacked systems, structure, and digital presence. Everything changed after I got connected to the Verizon Small Business Digital Ready program.”

Through the platform’s free training courses, Cheng shifted his focus from short-term survival to long-term strategy. He upgraded his point-of-sale system, implemented automated promotions, launched loyalty programs, and used AI to build bilingual SOPs and training manuals. The result: streamlined operations, higher employee retention, and exponential growth.

Today, 70% of General Tso’s business comes from corporate catering, and Cheng’s average daily revenue has more than doubled.

But Cheng’s ambitions extend far beyond profit. He is now launching NextGen Impact, a nonprofit initiative designed to support minority and immigrant entrepreneurs facing language or cultural barriers. “Thousands of family-owned restaurants struggle due to outdated systems and limited access to resources,” Cheng said. “We want to change that—through mentorship, technology, and community.”

With a mission to uplift underserved business owners and modernize perceptions of Chinese-American cuisine, Cheng’s story stands as a model of resilient, responsible, and digitally empowered entrepreneurship.