Andrew Chu, Director of operations for Junzi Kitchen, ’10, MBA ’13
Andrew Chu, ’10, MBA ’13, is energized by the lightning-fast pace of a restaurant startup. “If I went to a 9 to 5 desk job, I would be incredibly bored,” says Chu, director of operations for Junzi Kitchen. The restaurant, which was founded in New Haven in 2015 by a group of Yale University alumni, has already expanded to include several New York locations, all specializing in northern Chinese cuisine. Chu was among Junzi’s earliest team members — drawing on experience gained from his family’s restaurant background and two Southern business degrees. Both prepared him for a rewarding, demanding schedule. At Southern, he was a graduate intern, a resident hall adviser, an orientation ambassador, and treasurer of the Cultural Affairs Club and the Ski/Snowboard Club. “I was one of those kids,” says Chu, who also worked off campus — and served on what is now the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees. In the following interview, he shares his thoughts on Southern and business.