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Ling’s Wok Shop gives back to neighbors

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

Since opening its doors nine months ago, Ling’s Wok Shop – the sister concept to Ling & Louie’s Asian Bar and Grill – has managed its way through countless challenges like missed deliveries of supplies to a decrease in the number of dine-in patrons due to rising gas prices.

Despite these challenges, the Ling’s brand has taken a fresh approach to delight customers with more than just a meal at the two Scottsdale restaurants .

Ling’s currently offers two initiatives to keep customers coming to its establishments. Ling’s is slashing the cost of a gallon of gas off of the cost of a meal that exceeds $40 and has launched a “Cooking for a Cause” initiative where Ling’s donates part of the proceeds of a particular dish to a nonpro�it.

“Whenever we come up with different causes or promotions, the community’s always grateful,” said Ling’s Wok Shop regional general manager Joe Rizzo. “We’re always coming up with something different just to keep everybody intrigued and wanting to come back for more.” With its �irst promotion, Rizzo and the rest of the team at Lings were alarmed to see that 66% of restaurants across the nation had reported to have struggled amid rising gas prices, according to a study posted to Align.com.

The team members were also startled when they realized that Maricopa County’s gas prices were higher than the national average.

Since the promotion kicked off earlier this month, Rizzo has started each day by looking at the average price of gas in the state on AAA’s website and from there he slashes the cost of a gallon of gas off a customer’s bill.

In order to take advantage of the savings, customers will have to visit the Ling’s Wok Shop or Ling & Louie’s Asian Bar and Grill websites and sign up to become a “Wokstar.”

From there, customers will receive an email that they can present to their server to receive the discount. The promotion will last through Aug. 31.

“People aren’t going out as much so we’re trying to �igure out ways to help lighten the load of the punch that everybody’s taking right now at the gas pump,” Rizzo said. “I know everybody still wants to get out but getting a good reason to get out and more causes gives people more of an incentive to get out there.”

Rizzo estimates that $40 of food could feed a family of three or more people easily and since launching the initiative, he has seen orders skyrocket for fan favorite dishes like New Wave Pad Thai, Dan Dan Noodz, steamed dumplings and chicken lettuce wraps.

“We’re having a hefty number of togo orders come through and obviously we’ve dropped a little bit during the summertime, which was expected due to people leaving town and whatnot,” Rizzo said. “However, throughout the evenings and weekends, and weekdays, our dining rooms are full and we’ve really sustained.”

Slashing bills by northwards of $5 is not the only way that Ling’s Wok Shop and Ling & Louie’s Asian Bar and Grill are giving back .

For the rest of the month, a portion of sales of the Thai Tuna Bowl will be donated to Gabriel’s Angels — a Phoenix charity dedicated to improving the lives of children through interactions with animals.

However, at the turn of the calendar, Ling’s Wok Shop will shift its focus to working with the Arizona Children’s Association and will have a promotion where any patrons who provide a school supply like a pack of pens, pencils, notebooks or a backpack will receive a complimentary appetizer of their choice.

In addition to launching a new charitable offering, Ling’s Wok Shop will also roll out a new menu in August that could include �lashy new menu items like a new burger and a chicken sandwich.

“We haven’t had a full menu revamp in a little over two years, so we’re going to bring back a couple of old favorites that people have been talking about while also bringing in some new, �lashy items,” Rizzo said.

Rizzo also teased that the brand could be growing with new locations across the Valley.

“We have ideas of expanding Ling’s Wok Shop as well as Ling & Louie’s within the next two years,” he said. “We’re looking at different spaces all over the place but it’s mainly going to depend on how the next few months pan out.”

Joe Rizzo, regional general manager of Ling’s Wok Shop, said the community appreciates his restaurant’s causes and promotions.

(David Minton/Progress Staff Photographer)

Ling’s Wok Shop creates tasty dishes like Szechwan Green Beans, Uncle Fu’s Fried Rice with shrimp and chicken lettuce wraps.

(David Minton/Progress Staff Photographer)

If you go

Ling & Louie’s Asian bar and grill is located at 9397 E. Shea Boulevard. Lingandlouies.com Ling’s Wok Shop is located at 20511 N. Hayden Road. Lingswok.shop