Jesse Lin 0:26
This week, we have two special guests to help us discuss the amazing things that they are doing to help bring businesses in Chinatown, up to the digital floor? Digital bar? And basically make the businesses survive through this really difficult time. So I welcome Jackie, and Harry to join us this week and talk about all these amazing initiatives and work that they’re doing on behalf of these Chinatown businesses.
Full Transcript (Note: Transcribed via AI, may contain errors)
Angela Lin 0:58
And technically they’re part of the organization called Welcome to Chinatown for those that are familiar.
Jesse Lin 1:04
Yes. And actually, I found out about you guys, and I was really interested in to talk to you guys on our podcast, because I saw an article on Gothamist, about how young Chinese people were basically pitching in to help family businesses like trying to digitize some elements of it so that business could survive all this crazy situation posed by COVID. And I guess since then it’s grown, it had been pretty big previously, and it’s just grown even larger now. So we’d love to hear, you know, just more from you guys about what you guys are doing and how you’re helping to support these businesses.
Harry 1:44
Well, thanks for having us on, it really means a lot to us. It’s really humbling, because, essentially, I mean, I feel like we just started yesterday. So welcome to Chinatown was founded, essentially with our two founders, Jen and Vic. So both of them live in Chinatown, lived there for about 10 years. And they’ve just, you know, they’re really similar to a lot of us where they would go to the stores, buy their groceries hang out there, but then really didn’t get to know a lot of the people there, especially a lot of the stories from like, you know, people that have been there for generations, because they’re more of just like, as a younger generation, a lot of us worked in just like corporate spaces, so we didn’t really get a lot of chances to interact with the people that much until really when COVID hit last Lunar New Year, and then they realized that like, hey, like, they, they realized that with with this is happening like this is might be the end of Chinatown unless we do something about it.
Jackie 2:43
Yeah. And then I just want to take a moment to sort of brag and hype up Harry. So he’s sort of like the design and creative head of Welcome to Chinatown. And, I mean, that’s sort of like one of the reasons that I reached out and one of like, the many things that I saw that I was like, what what these people are doing is so cool. Um, and so I’m Jackie, by the way for people listening, hello. So I am a project manager on the team. And I started just like, help out with any projects we have, you know, contacting the businesses and just sort of like being that little bridge between what we’re working on and what the businesses need, and sort of what their current struggles are. But yeah, and then I basically just like DMed thinking it was this, like, massive team, you know, on the ground in New York, and wasn’t even sure if they were going to get back to me and I quickly heard back from one of the founders, Vic was like, yes, will will like it will take your help. Anyway, anything you can do to support I was like, that sounds great. I’ll do whatever. And the kind of quickly learned that it was just like, you know, pretty scrappy group of volunteers. A lot of Asian Americans who saw a need probably were feeling pretty helpless, not knowing really, you know, where to support and obviously feeling this just like deeper connection to Chinatown and the people who are really struggling. So yeah, that’s kind of how I got involved.
Angela Lin 4:47
Circling back because we we actually usually ask our guests like the same question every time which is essentially our podcast name because it’s omething you know, we as Asian Americans get asked all our lives and like, usually not with the greatest intentions. So we’d like to ask it because it’s kind of your way to take it back and you know, answer it the way you would actually want to represent yourself. And I’m curious if your answer has anything to do with like you what, you know, drew you to want to work with an organization that is dedicated to saving our communities, essentially. So where are you both really from?
Jackie 5:36
First of all, whenever I get this question, I always wish I could have like, like a clap back or like, I need to like remember a line that’s like, boom, like, now you feel bad. But I unfortunately, don’t have an answer like that. I think I’ve usually just like mumble something awkward. And I think I think part of it is like, I don’t want to give them the satisfaction of being like, oh, my parents are from China. I don’t want to say that even though that’s like totally part of my story. You know, that’s like, I think that’s part of who I am. I just don’t want to give them the satisfaction of saying that. So I kind of work around that. But you know, I was born here and grew up here. I was born in well, I was born in Maryland, but I basically from like age 1.5 on was in New Jersey. And had a pretty I think, like, standard suburban upbringing. I was in like a predominantly white, but like, I think our town probably when I graduated was close to like 20% Asian, so sort of somewhat balanced in a way. And then I went to school in New York. And that’s sort of where I’ve been mostly for the past, I guess, like seven years by now. But yeah, I think it’s hard because I want to be like, I’m from New York, I want to say from New Jersey. And then I also think, you know, the part of the person who like went to China every summer and who has like immigrant parents, it’s totally part of who I am, too. So, I mean, like, I also really am from China. I just don’t want to say that to like, you know, the white guy who stops me. Yeah, I’m sure you guys. It’s like a very conflicting question. I have a friend who is like, also she’s Korean American, and she’s really good at just being like, whenever people come at me I need to learn to be more like that.
Harry 7:26
Oh, wait, oh, my God, Jackie, you took basically I have the same, like, kind of like, like chain of thoughts every single time someone asked me that. And he’ll be like, um, what? I don’t know, I’m from here. Like, exactly. I wish I had a really nice clap back. But I grew up. I was born in Richmond, Virginia. And then my mom’s family was all in 626. So I would go back and forth. So that was my version of going back to the motherland. Which is the funniest crap I’ve like, I’ve tried to tell people I remember when I was in grade school in Virginia, and then all my white friends would be like, Oh my god, you get to go to LA every year. Like, do you get to go to like Hollywood? I’m like, no, I’m just like, we’re this, you know, chillin in the valley. Like, not like, I vividly remember that. Like, I would have to, like, make up stories for like, my white friends to get to be like, oh, my God, I must be so glamorous there. And like, you must have seen a celebrity. I’m like, no, like, I’m like, I live in my grandma’s house. And like, we take the bus and we like bus it into Chinatown, LA. And then like, just like, you know, like, we just like, hang out and like, just, just like, be ourselves. But yeah, I totally get it. Like, you know, I moved to New York City, after a few moves around, like, to OC and then I live in DC for a little bit and Baltimore. So like, yeah, I totally get that I like I wish I had a clap back.
Angela Lin 9:04
First of all, Harry, we’re from Irvine. So holla we get that 626. But you brought up an interesting point that I wanted to talk about with your work with Welcome to Chinatown, which is that you don’t speak Mandarin. So you know, how has the organization navigated working with these businesses? With the language barrier, I guess?
Harry 9:27
Yeah, I mean, like, for me, so. So the design team, we make all the merchandise for our small businesses that we represent that want to collaborate with us. And that’s, I have to talk through it and the design process. So like, I’m like thinking in my head, I’m like, okay, how do I talk, design speak in Cantonese. I don’t know the vocabulary as well. So it’s, I think when it comes down to it when people realize that like how earnest your your intentions are, that just comes through very well like, yes, there will be language barriers of like, you know, vocabulary, like just very basic things of just like there’s little details they, we just can’t translate back to them. But I think when it comes down to like the holistic picture, they do understand like, oh, these are just a bunch of people that just want to help. And I think that that comes off, like very true. And that’s also true with like all the other organizations that also popped up in Chinatown, like most of us, like, we were very lucky that we have a few translators. I think one of them is actually an aunt. Really, they’re like, Hey, what’s up like Allie’s aunt? Can you translate this for me? So that’s, that’s part of it. But no, I think they, the businesses are actually are really willing to work through our language barriers, because they know that they see the work that we put into, and also I think, funny enough, like a Chinese news outlet called World Journal has picked us up occasionally. So like when they see it on that..
Angela Lin 11:05
Wait wait wait, that is the shit my mom made me go into the bakery every week and pay quarter for my whole childhood. That’s huge, it’s like a big one for the Chinese community.
Harry 11:22
Yeah, so they, so I think with that, and then also, me and Vic, got hit up. It’s actually really embarrassing by KBB, to do to be part of a special and like, we were, like, asked to speak in Cantonese. And we’re just like oh no, we’re like, we don’t know the right vocabulary. But I think those are some of the kind of like, the PR things that also solidified that, like, they understand our message, because there is other organizations that are translating for us.
Jackie 11:52
Yeah, we definitely. I mean, we have some like awesome translators. I think a lot of the people in the group are sort of like Harry and I, who like, could definitely speak a little bit of whatever language our parents spoke, but definitely not enough to, like convey what the initiative is. Yeah, so we have an amazing team of translators, one of our volunteers that’s also like, part, translator, but also sort of like, takes what we’re doing and puts it on WeChat, which, you know, just reaches like a whole new audience. You know, Instagram has been great for sort of like a specific audience here. And then that’s just like a whole new beast. But something else that I’ve sort of learned and just like our work with the different business owners is that, I mean, number one thing we’re doing is listening, right? We’re not really just like, presenting them a prescription of like, Hello, here’s how we think you should fix your business.
Unknown Speaker 12:40
Something I want to talk about because I think all of us on this call have a connection to New York in some way. Like, I don’t currently live there by live there for seven years. Now, I’m like, how many years, seven years before I left, so I definitely have, you know, a kinship to it. But I feel like there is a bigger thing attached to the movement that you guys are part of, even for people that aren’t from New York or have never been to New York, like, I read something that like, well, Awkwafina is for sure, you know, New York born and raised, she has strong pride for Queens and all that, but I read an article about how she donated to your organization and other organizations at kind of like the peak of the anti Asian racism during COVID. And I read that article and thinking like, this is so interesting, because this, you know, helping your organization, other organizations like it are is like a tangible way, I think you said this at the top too, but like a tangible way for people to feel like there’s a solid thing they can do to combat the shittiness that’s, you know, happening to our community during this time. And like, I in doing some research ahead of our call with you today, I was really reminded of that horrible incident of that, like ninety year old grandma who got lit on fire, you know, for by a stranger walking by her. And there are so many incidents like that, that happened during this time and like continued to happen, I’m sure that are unreported. And I immediately was like, okay, I’m doing donating a bunch of money to you guys right now. Because I felt like oh, this is something I can do to you know, feel like I’m helping in some way even if it’s more symbolic, because I’m not in New York and I you know, I can’t like patron these restaurants or anything but I am trying to give back and I feel like people can resonate with that, even if they’re not in New York. Have you had like, people reach out to you that are outside New York or don’t even have affiliation to and are just like connected to it in that way.
Harry 14:48
On a like a back end side. So like we so with our store, we run it through an e-commerce platform, so we actually see where all the things are getting shipped. So there’s place there’s, there’s a bunch of people that are just like in Middle America, just like living their life there, and they still are buying all this merchandise that we’re selling. And I think it’s exactly what you said, Angela it’s just like, oh, like, I can’t, I can’t go to this restaurant and like buy a meal there. But like, I can buy a piece of merchandise that I know that represents them. And then I can rep them when I go, you know, grocery shopping socially distanced, and then I also know the money is going back to them.
Jackie 15:28
Yeah. And I want to circle back to what you said, Angela. And I just want to say that like your donation is like not symbolic at all. Like, it’s these donations that really like took our organizations to like what it is now it’s all of these people from all over the country kind of feeling some kind of connection to these stories they’re hearing, whether they’re Asian American or not. And like, that’s how we’ve been able to really help these businesses. You know, even in the beginning of probably around March, when people were sort of going back home or leaving New York, even if temporarily, I think a lot of the stuff that we are, you know, are made in Chinatown merch, people sort of felt that it was like a connection back to New York, I think. So we had a lot of people messaging me being like, oh my god, I used to go here, like five years ago, when I lived in New York, like Jin Fong is my favorite place ever. Like I I’m so excited to like, rep this in what wherever they’ve moved on to, um, and I think it’s like, I mean, that’s another reason why it’s so important to like, keep Chinatown open forever. These places have like such an important place in people’s hearts and people’s like experiences in New York City. I think it’s like, I mean, Chinatown is just like such quintessential New York City, right? It’s like one of the key things you think first.
Jesse Lin 16:39
Part of the reason that I think people visit and why people love living here is that you, you turn, you turn the page on the book, and you find something new. And even in the same neighborhoods that you’re in, let’s say Chinatown, like stuff is changing all the time. So you turn the page again, and it’s something different. So I feel like preserving these businesses is basically like paramount to saving what makes New York special, which is that you walk out the door, and you never know what you’re gonna find. And that’s part of the magic.
Harry 17:12
Totally agree, like. So when I was growing up in Virginia, everywhere we went, we only went to Chinatowns. It was hilarious, like so. So we would go up and down the East Coast. So we went to Philadelphia, DC. And then like Manhattan, and then we also went to Flushing. And then one time we went to Boston, and then every single time we stopped was in Chinatown. Like we never would go outside of Chinatown. It was always there. Like that hotel was there. And then like my dad will have a friendly friend there so it’s just like we never, we never left the bubble. When I was in LA. I was like in LA Chinatown or in Monterey Park. So it’s like, I never left the bubble. It was really funny. But no, I agree. Like, when I was, and when I was living in OC, for a year, when I started a different job there. I realized that like, you know, there are like, unfortunately, like there, there is a community of small businesses that make it so lively. But like, you know, when you’re living in suburbia, you are going to big box stores, you’re going to like you know, the Walmart’s the targets the Home Depot’s, CVSs, we all go to these places. But then when you live in Manhattan, or you live in a metropolitan city, like you get this opportunity to, like go to these small little shops. And like they have like a different variety of things. They like everything they choose us with so much intention. And it’s not based on any type of metric, or any type of like number that they crunched out. Maybe it is in later years. But like really they choose it because they’re like, oh, I know this is good quality. And like I would give this to my family. So I’m going to sell it out like I live in the Upper West Side. And we because of endemic like you know, we don’t we actually don’t go to Trader Joe’s anymore because like low key the Trader Joe’s here is like a cesspool. So we actually go to this cute little gross Italian grocery store. And we’ve gotten to know that this family and they’re so cute. They bicker with each other. There’s a cat named Oliver. But then also, they sell these really specific Italian like, ingredients like they have this like certain type of like tomato sauce that like I had. No, I had no idea what it was and they’ll tell me how to cook it. And they’re like sometimes the mom will come and, she’s like, buy this artichoke and chop it in half and do this with it. And then this is what I would eat for dinner tonight. I was like, what,tYou’re so cute. And this is happening and also like, in like small businesses in Chinatown too. Like every time I go into like, the Vietnamese grocery store, like ask them like so I’m Chinese-Vietnamese and then ask them like hey, how do you make like, you know, like mei wang or something and then like to be like, oh, like get this brand because like I like this one and then get this thing because I eat this one. I’m like, okay where you just don’t get that type of camaraderie and that type of like community when you’re like, at a Target, or like at a Walmart, maybe in Trader Joe’s, but like, you know, definitely not in a Target.
Jackie 20:09
And it’s also like where your money goes, right? I feel like when you shop at Target, I don’t even know the like levels that our money goes to before it gets to like the end maker or the owner, you know, and with this, you kind of feel like, at least maybe there’s still a few more loopholes that the money goes through. But it’s like, far less than that. I always feel better being like, okay, well, I’m not support, I don’t even know what I’m supporting when I’m at CVS, you know? So…
Angela Lin 20:34
One question that I want to make sure we cover off of because Jesse mentioned at the beginning is like the digitization of Chinatown as part of what you guys do, right, like barely scratching the surface. But one of the things, because one thing that I always think of when from thinking back on my time in Chinatown is like, okay, I better hit the ATM. Everything’s cash based, or like, there’s like one spot that takes credit card. So how’s that going? And will I be able to Venmo people the next I go to Chinatown?
Harry 21:06
Oh, well, actually, I think not even from us, like not from the parts of us. It’s happening organically. And attempt, businesses are getting onto delivery platforms, they are going on to Venmo, they’re selling online. So just organically without the powers of us or us adjusting us. Like it’s already happening. I think the one thing that we realized that, in the beginning is that so just Jackie, you actually said it like what we do, one of our core pillars is that like we listen first before we like, you know, blurt out a bunch of stuff. And actually one of the things was just like, you know, at that point in their life during COVID, they can’t mentally have the bandwidth to be like, okay, let me figure out a POS system and figure out how to do how to onboard credit card machine how to get internet. So actually, we, we just we open up the idea, we open up the conversation, we tell them like, oh, these are possibilities for you. But like, we’re not going to push on you. That being said, like, now like a year later, there is a lot more credit cards, which I personally like, there’s actually and then my favorite tea shop Son’s Organic Art, she does Venmo now because she sells on Instagram. So it is it is progressing. And I think it’s more of just like letting them take it at their own pace, but also like still presenting the idea. And then letting them know that it is a viable idea. Because most of it is like I think a lot of us suffer with this too is that like, if we’re just kind of like talking about ideas in our own circle, or just internally, we don’t know if it’s right or wrong, or we don’t know, we should do it. Because we’re like, well, no one else set us said to do it. So it might be wrong. It might be a bad investment. But you know, if there’s other people kind of suggesting, hey, this might be a consideration. You know, it’ll push them over a little bit. And they’re like, oh, maybe we’ll do it. But I have heard, like, I don’t know too much about credit card systems. But like, you know, if you don’t make a certain like x number sales or certain percentage of sales, like you end up losing money. So like that’s, that’s their fear is that like, if there’s not enough foot traffic, there’s no point of a credit card system, because then they end up losing any money, even if you make $0 that day.
Jackie 23:21
Yeah, I think like the notion that, you know, these old Chinatown businesses wouldn’t have been able to, like, modernize and digitize and get on social media without the help of like, young first gen kids. I think that’s like, totally false. I mean, when we look around, I just like, look at how scrappy these businesses have gotten. And, you know, they they do what it what it takes, right, whether it’s like physically building an outdoor dining thing, because you don’t have like, American Express backed, you know, gorgeous outdoor bodega, or whatever bungalows, I think they make it work, you know, they’re out there. They’re like building these things. And, and if it means, like, they need to get on these delivery apps that are, you know, a whole other topic, like sucking money from them, but if that’s what it takes, like they’re doing these things, and we’re sort of here to like, help them navigate that and help them sort of figure out which ones are maybe, you know, a better solution than others. But I do think like, another like, very hopeful thing is that these businesses are not just like, okay, well, we’re we just have to close now they’re like, grabbing out whatever they can to stay alive, and stay afloat through this and hopefully, you know, see the other side.
Jesse Lin 24:30
Jackie, you mentioned a really good point that I was just thinking of when you’re when you’re talking which is that a lot of the articles are coming out around this make it kind of sound like the younger generation is coming in as like a savior and they’re like helping out these fuddy duddy old people who don’t know what they’re doing, but it’s probably not the case. Right? They’ve been around for a while. So I would curious to learn from the both of you like have you learned something from working with these business owners.
Jackie 24:56
I mean, just like the the overhead costs and what it takes to run business and a restaurant in general has just been like such a shock to me. I mean, I’ve sort of like worked in the food world for a bit and had a general understanding that it was difficult, but just knowing like, I think in the beginning, when I was speaking to a lot of these businesses kind of just taking their temp and seeing, like, what the struggles were everyone was like, well, we’re just putting out fires, like, we’re not even looking ahead. Like, it’s so hard. Everything is sort of like, like, day by day, month by month. And it’s I think, that has been a huge learning. But you’re so right. I mean, like, this summer, we were putting together this socially distanced food crawl event, it was sort of our first like, public facing event. And we were really concerned, we wanted to make sure like, every single thing was perfect, both from like a COVID standpoint, making sure that businesses were prepared. So we had like, thought of every possible thing that could go wrong and written it out and like, had this huge outline to present to these businesses. And they were like, oh, we’ve served like a lot of people before, don’t worry, we got this. And I was like, oh, yeah, okay, you’re right, you definitely know more about this than I do. I think if anything, it’s like, we’re learning the same amount from each other, you know, and just sort of like trading notes and creating these events from those from what comes out of that those conversations.
Jesse Lin 26:10
What about you, Harry?
Harry 26:11
I mean, that kind of thing was Jackie, like, just getting to know, well, first of all, I think like a lot of the history in Chinatown that I just didn’t know about, and then also just like, like, so currently, I’m working with Jin Fong to actually outside of Welcome to China attempt to like, work with them to make the outdoor dining set up. And part of it, I get the opportunity to go through their kitchen. Oh, my God it’s so cool. And then, like, they had woks the size of like, I don’t even know how big they were like, essentially, like, bigger than a car tire. And you don’t realize why, like, you know, as like a consumer of just like, hey, like, you know, I can buy a few dim sum dishes here and there and then that can help them but it’s like, oh, no, it’s like, they have separate kitchens for different types of cooking. And then you have different chefs doing different things. And then you can’t really turn off one kitchen or not, because that eliminates a whole food group. So it’s like things like that, like you don’t you end up learning about and then you know, right now, I’m also learning about like, ask them, like, where are these chefs coming from? They’re like, oh, like they came with, like, you know, the previous generation of immigration. And then now we’re worried because there might not be a next generation to take on the same skills.
Angela Lin 27:33
Okay, well, sounds like you’re learning a lot about how to run businesses.
Harry 27:39
Yeah. We’re gonna be consulting with people like this how you open a Chinatown restaurant, you gotta get a, b, and c, gotta get the giant wok.
Angela Lin 27:52
Alright, so I think we’re coming up around kind of like closing but want to make sure that we let the listeners know how they can support whether they’re in New York or not in New York, how can they support what you guys are doing?
Harry 28:08
Yes, we have so many things going on. So first, you can follow us on Instagram, which is welcome period to period Chinatown. Welcome to Chinatown. You can also find us on our website, which is WelcometoChinatown.com. If, if you have the means to feel free to donate honestly, every dollar does help us like you know, it helps us fund for our Longevity Fund, which is our small business grants that we’re working towards of like getting $5,000 grants to small businesses. We’re working on a business accelerator, which is working with a different pool of small businesses in Chinatown and figure out like where can we bring in our expertise to kind of like help them like up their game. You can buy our merch MadeinChinatownNY.com, we’re gonna do a big drop for Luna New Years, so if you wanna rep us so yeah, really, honestly, you find us on Instagram. You get all the news, you can sign up for our newsletter, which is a more like formal way of like reading about us if you like to. And then also if anyone wants to volunteer with us or just like wants to just like contribute in a different way. We’ve had a lot of illustrators and designers just being like, hey, like, I would love to donate some time to just like draw a few things and you can use it to, you know, sell merch or something. So, we have a lot of ways to kind of like contribute. If it’s not monetary, you can just re-story us, you can just kind of tell your friends about it. Or you can buy merch from us. It’s really anything you decide.
Jackie 29:47
Yeah, I think Harry touched upon our like sort of the donations if you’re able to. We have a Longevity Fund, which is sort of our own like small business grant program. So something we learned very early on was that like small family owned Chinatown businesses were basically being overlooked for any kind of grant or any kind of loan. Some of it is like, you know, whether they don’t really have the means or the capacity to like show how much they’re really struggling and a lot of that is sort of this like cash based business as well. So we sort of wanted to build a way to take all these donations and, you know, create just like a small little lifeline for these businesses to cover some overhead costs. So all that money goes to these businesses and keeping them alive. And then I think for like all grassroots movements, like just sharing the story is so huge. Even if it’s as simple as like, you see a really cool story about a business owner on Instagram, you tap that share button, and then you know, someone else learns about it, and then keeps going.
Jesse Lin 30:47
We always like to end our podcasts on a sweet treat. So we’re going to enter our fortune cookie closing segment. And what we wanted to ask both you you guys have already talked about a few different stores but individually what would you say is your favorite mom and pop Asian business?
Jackie 31:04
Uh, definitely for sure Fong On is like one of my favorite like, when I’m looking for a sweet treats, but I don’t exactly know what I want. I feel like that’s kind of hit the spot. I feel like Asian desserts are not are always like, like perfect amount of sugar and perfect amount of sweetness. And they do that with like tofu and with rice cakes. So that’s one of my three favorite children. And then Fay-Da I know that’s kind of a boring answer but like, every time I’m back in New York, I feel like I go there for a sesame ball. I sort of my like, I’m finally back here and I can get like a great Asian baked good. I’m gonna toss it to Harry as I think of my third.
Harry 31:47
You inspired me a bit. Yeah, so let’s see one of them is Double Crispy bakery. They’re famously known for their Portuguese egg tarts, but they also have this very decadent, elaborate mango cake. Beautiful. So love them. They’re so cute. Like every single time they go in there they always suggest like a new thing that they’re trying. Another store called Grand Tea Imports, they sell like kind of spiritual items. A lot of age teas that are amazing. They like are aged for like 20 years and they find it in some caves. And I don’t really understand how they find it. They tell me stories. I’m like, I don’t really believe. And then their mom and dad are so cute. Every time I come in there. They always show off this cute little trinket they’ve like sourced from Asia. Look at this thing and I’m like caving and now I have like a million trinkets. And then the last place. I don’t know. Jackie, do you have a third?
Jackie 32:54
Yes, I’ll save you don’t worry. This is definitely one of the newer ones they actually opened like the spring so they’re called Public Village. It’s like a Sichuan like noodle snacky place. But they were part of one of our food crawls. And they do this like amazing, crispy, spicy lotus root dish. But I like the food is amazing. It’s spicy and delicious. But I also think the fact that they like opened and persevered through like a pandemic is just a testament to like, their their drive and food’s delicious. So it makes sense why they’re still around.
Harry 33:29
Okay, I think I have my last one now.
Jackie 33:32
What a test.
Harry 33:33
Last, I know, I know. My last one is Wing On Ww & Co they’re this amazing shop on Mott Street. They’re like, right now in their third generation, they’ve been there for 100 years, like the oldest shop in Chinatown. They’ve like shifted from general store to like for a while they had a like herbalist counter and now they primarily do porcelain. And third generation May Lum she also runs a like artists residency out of her storefront too. And they do a lot of community activism. But a lot of the work they sell is beautiful. They sell things that are from like, generations ago, but then also they source new Asian American ceramic artists, and then have their work right next to like something we have like, you know, from our grandparents. So she does a really great job of creating both like what we see is like familiar and part of her like, kind of cultural identity and then like blending it with like what is our new identity and thinking about like, how can we kind of progress from this?
Angela Lin 34:46
Well, thank you for joining us. I think we learned a lot from this conversation and just thank you for the work that you’re doing because it’s so important not just to Chinatown, but as we said to the broader community. So, thank you.
Jackie 35:01
Thank you guys for having us and for you know, and having this awesome podcast honestly and kind of amplifying these voices that need to be heard.
Jesse Lin 35:18
Amazing. Alright guys. Well thanks for joining us and our guests. If you have any feedback for us or if you have more questions about how you can support our friends here, please feel free to reach out to us on Instagram. You can dm us or you can email us at telluswhereyourefrom@gmail.com.