In March 2020, writer and activist Grace Young created the oral history project Coronavirus: Chinatown Stories with videographer Dan Ahn to share how Manhattan’s Chinatown has been affected by COVID-19. Young, the author of the James Beard Foundation award-winning cookbook Stir-Frying to the Sky’s Edge, has had a longtime love of Chinatowns, which she credits to her childhood memories of visits to the Chinatown in San Francisco, where she is from.
During the pandemic, Young has rallied support for Chinese-owned restaurants and markets in Manhattan and across the country during a time when many independent businesses are struggling to stay open. Below, she shares what makes Chinatown special and why people all across the U.S. should support their locally owned Chinese businesses. (This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)
SELF: Why did you become such an advocate for New York City’s Chinatown?
In January 2020, before there were any COVID-19 cases in America, I saw that Manhattan’s Chinatown had emptied out. There was an immediate shunning of Chinese restaurants, and not just in Chinatown, but in Chinese mom-and-pop restaurants all across the United States. Last year, Chinatown lost one restaurant that was 65 years old called WK 69 Bayard Restaurant. We lost a bakery that was over 50 years old called Lung Moon. That’s what really scared me. It made me think that if these restaurants keep going down, there will be no Chinatown. It just never occurred to me that you could lose Chinatown. I realized that I had to start supporting these restaurants.
Every time I walk into Chinatown, it hurts. Of course, we could not have 100% seating, but to see that nobody is even in the restaurants buying takeout sometimes is very painful to see. Last week, I went to see a restaurant owner and he said there have been days that he only sold $5 worth of food.
SELF: You’ve talked to a lot of people living in Chinatown for your projects. What did you learn?
I realized that Chinatown operates on such small profit margins. When you go to Chinatown and you order a bowl of wonton noodles you’re expecting to pay $6 or $7 at the most. And it’s so labor intensive to make the filling, to hand-wrap the dumplings, to boil the dumplings, to put them into the bowl, and to add some vegetables or some scallions. Then consider that these restaurant owners pay their utilities, electricity, gas, water, garbage, insurance, rent, and property tax. How much could they possibly be making from a bowl of wonton noodle soup?
SELF: In your opinion, why should people who live outside of New York City care about preserving Manhattan’s Chinatown, in addition to their local Chinatowns?
Chinatown is gritty. And it’s charming. And it’s the real deal. It is one of America’s great centers for Chinese culture and cuisine. It’s an important part of America.
One of the people I interviewed last year who was born and raised in Chinatown said you can know Chinatown your whole life and still not know it. There are depths and layers, and I’m still discovering new things that I had no idea existed in Chinatown. The other thing that’s so great is that Chinatown is just like small-town America because so many of the businesses are mom-and-pop shops—and so many are one of a kind. I have a special store that I like to go to for sponge cake. I have a store that I go to get lotus root, and I have another store that I go to for baby bok choy.
SELF: How have you supported Chinatown this past year?
I’m a cookbook author, and in all of the cooking classes I have taught, inevitably, somebody would always ask, “What are your favorite restaurants in Chinatown?” Before the pandemic, I would always say, “Home cooking is much better.” I want people to cook my recipes. But in the last year, I’ve eaten more takeout than I have in my entire life. I knew that if we weren’t buying takeout, these restaurants were going to go down. And not only was I eating takeout with my husband, but I would say to my neighbors, “Do you want me to pick something up for you?”
My social media accounts became Chinatown accounts. I am just trying to drive business in any which way I can. Anytime I get a story assignment I ask to write about Chinatown.
SELF: Can you talk about your current campaigns to support Chinese-owned businesses in Manhattan and around the country?
I partnered with an organization called Welcome to Chinatown, which was started by two young Chinese American women, Jennifer Tam and Victoria Lee. Welcome to Chinatown has been working to help the community since last spring. From the beginning, they were raising money and using it to feed frontline workers while giving business to Chinese restaurants. They shifted to serving the Chinatown community as more and more people lost jobs. I recognized that we had to support those in the community who were vulnerable and that’s how we ended up with this idea of buying meals from four legacy Chinatown restaurants to provide meals for at-risk seniors and those in the community who are dealing with food insecurity. And so we’re supporting these restaurants that are vulnerable and need our business, and at the same time, we’re able to feed those in the community who are in need. (Editor’s note: You can learn more about the campaign by visiting GoFundMe.)
In October, I contacted the James Beard Foundation and said I have this idea about a campaign that we could do on Instagram called Save Chinese Restaurants. I should say that that idea actually came from Dan Souza of Cook’s Illustrated who said one of his staff members thought I should do a Chinese restaurant challenge. I didn’t have enough followers to make an impact, so I reached out to the James Beard Foundation.
All you have to do is post a photo of your favorite dish or dishes from your local Chinese restaurant with the hashtag #SaveChineseRestaurants on Instagram and tell your followers to do the same thing. The only way we can help these little restaurants that aren’t getting any PPP loans is to just show up.
SELF: Some people might say that all restaurants are having financial troubles. Why should people support Chinese restaurants specifically?
Since March of last year all restaurants across the United States have been suffering, but Chinese restaurants carry this stigma that they are somehow to blame for the coronavirus. And now with the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, workers in Chinese restaurants have that extra fear of, “Is someone going to try to hurt me when I travel to work?” My heart goes out to them. That’s a horrible reality that they’ve had to deal with.
I think people haven’t computed that by the time coronavirus is behind us—that when they come out to celebrate—how will they feel when they realize that there is no Chinatown or that their favorite Chinese restaurant is gone?
SELF: Given the recent violence against Asians, how do you think people can best support the Asian community?
With the rise in violence against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, businesses that are already hanging on by a thread are even more vulnerable. It’s more important than ever that we show our solidarity in standing with Asian Americans. Everyone needs to do their part to stop Asian hate. Show your support by patronizing Asian restaurants and mom-and-pop stores. Pay cash, tip generously, offer to pick up takeout for your friends and neighbors. By keeping your local mom-and-pop businesses vibrant, you are supporting the community.
Related:
- The Complicated, Vital Work of Helping Domestic Violence Survivors in a Pandemic
- How the Pandemic Changed—and Fueled—the Fight Against Anti-Asian Racism
- Anti-Asian Racism Is Taking a Mental and Emotional Toll on Me