For the past 12 years, Woks restaurant has been the essence for Chinese immigrants in Jackson Heights. Every day, from 11 AM to 10 PM, this noteworthy spot on 37th Avenue is filled with the aroma of Kung Pao Chicken, Peking Duck, and Stinky Tofu. Surrounded by this home-like ambiance, every afternoon, groups of friends and family sat along the sidewalks and enjoyed their cuisines under the sunlight. Amid the noisy street, they found peace in each other’s companions and the familiar tastes.
The owner, however, never got to enjoy his food like his customers did. For over a decade the owner of Woks, Wuchang Wang, worked seven days a week, 12 hours a day and only took off two days a year on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The overwhelming workload not only left him with no personal time but also affected his health. Wang has been suffering from back pain and insomnia for over ten years. Now he is 65, and he has been considering retiring since May, 2023.
Wang is a typical example of the overworked, aging Chinese restaurant owners in Jackson Heights, a diverse neighborhood in Queens, New York with more than 70 nationalities and over 160 languages. Like Wang, Chinese immigrants from the nineties opened restaurants to keep in touch with their roots while looking for cultural companions. Although the food might not be perfectly authentic, the restaurants shelter the newcomers and offer them a sense of familiarity. The Chinese food industry flourished in NYC for about two decades. But when the owners from the era are ready to retire, no one can take over the job.
Since the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943, Chinese immigration to the United States has been rising. This trend drastically increased after 1990. Many moved with their families for new opportunities while others sought asylum, particularly after the Tiananmen Square incident. According to the Migration Policy Institute, today, approximately 5.4 million Chinese reside in the United States, while New York City has over half a million of the Chinese population.
The owners of these restaurants are reluctant to let their children take over the business. They didn’t come to the United States to become chefs; this career path was merely a tool to earn a living. Second-generation Chinese immigrants mostly find middle-class careers in law, medicine, or computer science. According to Chinese Hospitality Alliance Tea Talk, before the start of COVID-19, the number of Chinese restaurants in New York City dropped by 16 percent from 2016 to 2019.
The owners, meanwhile, hold high expectations of their children. Research by Developmental Psychology suggests that second-generation Asian Americans find steady jobs to compensate for their parents’ sacrifices. Faye Hu, who opened New Peking Kitchen six years ago, set a broad blueprint for her 14-year-old daughter. “I can work in a restaurant, but my daughter needs to do bigger things,” said Hu. “We didn’t come to America for her to be a waitress, she needs to join mainstream society.”
Chinese restaurants also faced challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. While the dining industry took a major hit in 2020, Chinese restaurants, specifically, suffered from preconceived biases as the coronavirus was first discovered in Wuhan, China. The maintenance costs were too high with months of little to no business. Shutting down the restaurants was the best way to avoid further losses. Based on statistics from Restaurants Hospitality, coronavirus caused 70% of sales drops in Chinese restaurants. By March 2020, 94% of the restaurants closed.
“We made it through, but it was tough until late last year,” said Mr. Wang in Chinese. “We could barely pay for rent and support my daughter in college.”
A lot of Chinese residents also felt that New York City was unsafe due to the rise in anti-Asian crimes as xenophobia peaked during COVID-19. Many friends of Wang fled the city or were hesitant to step out of their houses for days. As indicated by NBC News, crimes targeting Asian Americans rose by 361% after the pandemic outbreak, with New York being the most aggressive city.
New immigrants are also reluctant to work in Chinese restaurants. Chinese cuisine has higher material and labor costs, but the market prices are often low. Angela Juo, a Chinese American who runs the Japanese-style restaurant Okawa, was able to profit from the business within one year of opening. However, many Chinese restaurants don’t have steady customer flows even after years of business. “Cutting fish slices and making Sushi is much easier,” Juo said, sharing her typical workload. “You can sell the same materials with higher prices and less work.”
Wang hasn’t found a successor to Woks but plans to retire in a few months. His daughter graduated from New York University in the spring of 2023, which Wang is extremely proud of. He felt that he had completed his biggest task in America – supporting his daughter to live better than he did.
“She is a real American now,” said Mr. Wang, “And I need to live my life just like she will.”
