Xibei says all stores operating normally, denies rumor of full closure

A public denial of a full-closure rumor is less a signal about restaurant operations than about the cost of narrative risk in a chain that depends on foot traffic and supplier confidence. The reputational stakes extend to employees, landlords and franchise partners, who read such statements as much as diners do. The open question is whether the company's reassurances are backed by visible store-level activity, since a denial alone rarely settles the underlying concern that generated the rumor.