Video: Our Town

[MUSIC PLAYING] My grandmother has always been the rock and the matriarch of my family. One of the reasons why I decided to take over Wing on Wo was to make sure that my elders had a place to return to, that they had a place to age in place, I think is so important, that is grounding, that is familiar. And that’s why I decided to continue the legacy of running a porcelain shop. [MUSIC PLAYING] My great-great-grandfather came over to New York City in 1890 and started to open a business called Wing on Wo which then was a general store. My grandmother took over the shop from her father in 1964. When we think about the patterns of second-generation children leaving Chinatown, it’s because of this idea of the immigrant story. It’s the idea of the American Dream and doing bigger and better things than what their parents or grandparents struggled for. The older generation doesn’t want their kids to do the same things that they’re doing, because that’s not a sign of success for them. I wasn’t really encouraged to take over the business, and I wasn’t discouraged. And I think having that choice to make for myself that I wanted to make this commitment was what really brought me to this place. I moved to Chinatown in 2020. And during that time, it was the peak of the pandemic. I’m originally from San Francisco. This was a place that reminded me of home. This was a place that reminded me of my parents. It reminded me of parts of myself that maybe I hadn’t had the chance to really dig into. I think people can feel immersed in Chinese culture from coming to Chinatown. And think that’s what a lot of people are excited about. That feels like you’re just seeing the external part of Chinatown. You’re seeing the things that are shiny. To me, Chinatown is a collective resistance against those racist laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act. This was a place where people were able to pool together their money, create a community for themselves, create their own infrastructure. And today Chinatown continues that legacy of resistance and resilience. The Chinese Exclusion Act was enacted in 1882. And that was when the US government only allowed certain Chinese immigrants to immigrate to the US. The other historical moment that allowed the floodgates to open for other Chinese immigrants to come over to the US was the 1965 Immigration Act. And that’s when we saw a huge wave of immigrants from Southern China and also from Fujian province come and immigrate to New York City. [MUSIC PLAYING] My parents moved here from South Korea about 45 years ago. My dad, when he first came over, was a manual laborer moving vegetable boxes in Brooklyn. My mother used to sew in a sweatshop. So, I grew up in Queens, New York and opened Golden Diner 4 and 1/2 years ago. If I were to say that we’re not gentrifying our neighborhood Chinatown, I’d be lying. But I think what’s more important is how we approach the business, answer the tough questions like, are we honoring the neighborhood? Are we being inclusive when we are setting prices? And are we supporting the businesses around us? We go to local vendors to get ingredients to definitely support them. But beyond all that, it’s because their product is awesome. These Chinatown bakeries have been doing this for so long. So their bread is so much better than anything I could do. I hope and like to think that we are telling the story and a living part of our neighborhood. I think the future of Chinatown lies within our generation of people that are living here and building here and creating and working together. [MUSIC PLAYING] My dad opened Congee Village in 1996. It’s pretty cool that I got to say that I grew up in this restaurant. I opened my store in December of 2020 on Orchard by Canal. My grandmother worked at a garment factory in Chinatown. She’s the only member of my family who asks what I had for dinner and if I had dinner. And in Chinese culture that’s like “I love you.” I love her so much that she’s been in a few of my lookbooks. She’s my entire life. I care about everything that I care about because of how she raised me. [MUSIC PLAYING] Without the people in Chinatown, there is no place anymore. There’s no more Chinatown. What’s really interesting now that we’re seeing is a resurgence to wanting to stay in Chinatown, wanting to come back and support and uplift the neighborhood. And that has really bloomed in the wake of Covid. [MUSIC PLAYING] There needs to be people who are weaving this tapestry of past and present into the future in order for us to feel like a resilient community. [MUSIC PLAYING]