With the impacts of Covid-19, it is not surprising that the small business owners have been the worst hit. New York, which hosts one of the biggest Asian-American communities, is currently facing a hard time to makes ends meet.
One such restaurant owner in New York, Mei Chau experienced a hit to her business way before the virus even became a global emergency. She reported witnessing a 20% loss in her business in late January. And, suddenly, one day, there were just three orders in the entire day.
Chau believes that just because of the origin of the virus being from China, people feared stepping into Manhattan’s Chinatown to get their fix of Chinese food.
It is fear, she presumes, is what ended up impacting their business for the worse. It was the constant fear among the people of not just getting infected themselves but also carrying around the virus to someone old and vulnerable.
Chau has decided to reopen her restaurant, Aux Epices again and her website says the same. But, the workers in her restaurant are afraid of travelling from the other side of the neighbourhood, not to mention that Chau herself wakes up covered in sweat because of nightmares.
Asian-owned businesses in New York are facing an extremely hard time, especially because of the coronavirus pandemic and the ingrained fear in people’s minds. The advocates and the experts have even reported that these pressures are not going to get better even when the states start reopening completely.
It is not just the lack of business, Asian-Americans are also afraid of the constant discrimination that is likely going to follow the Covid-19 pandemic. The risks of being hit and slurred on is likely going to witness a sharp peak.
The constant blame being thrown at China is becoming a Republican political strategy, according to some of the Asian Americans in the country.
During mid-february in Houston when the analysts and experts were predicted very isolated damage to the restaurant, the business owners in Chinatown experienced the worst hit to their business, even worse that what happened during the time of Hurricane Harvey.
Even several of the Chinese American medical practices struggled to keep their businesses afloat. Doctors around experienced a sudden drop of 10-15% in the patient count because people were afraid of travelling out.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. personally visited Chinatown during the initial days of the outbreak to urge the customers to continue with their purchases.
The constant struggles faced by Asian-American businesses have already faded from the national spotlight following the impacts of the pandemic. With the new rules of social distancing in place, things are going to get worse over the course of time and not better.
According to the statistics last month, 10% of the Asian-owned businesses were restaurants or other food businesses, a percentage that is a lot more than any other group. It suggests that the Asian business owners are extremely crucial and important employers for their communities.
The Covid-19 pandemic has not just hit the black and latino community in the New York, statistics have further suggested that there has been a dramatic fallout for the Asians too, who have been experiencing the wrath of the sharpest rate of unemployment in the country.
Following the announcement of the sweeping shutdown in New York, less than half of the restaurants in Chinatown remained open for takeout. And, the business advocates have reported that it is tough to establish the actual number of restaurants and businesses that have shut down for good amidst the lockdown.
With the constant flare of the anti-Asian racism in the US, the constant preying of the leaders against China could later impact the immigrants who stay in Chinatown in New York.
Several of the businesses have even removed online ordering and contactless delivery because of the fear and retaliation ingrained within their minds.
Many of the Asians believe that the racism flare is because of President Trump’s speeches and the constant blame game. The origin of the “Chinese virus” said by Trump was an instigation behind the constant racism that against the Asian community residing in US.
The Asian communities have expressed their distress during these hard times, saying that even an offhand comment can end up instigating stokes of racism. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California also instilled fear within the minds of people suggesting that the origin of the community spread in the country started from a nail salon.
Tracy Tran, who is an employer at a nail salon said that even though they are not Chinese, they are Asians and such comments can impact their lives for the worse.
In New York city, the communities have come together to help each other out during these times of distress. A volunteer organisation comprising of 20 Asian-Americans have raised over $100,000 to help buy meals for the frontline workers from the Chinese restaurants that have run out of business.
Even the children are helping out their parents in this age of technology. A son developed a website for his father named Asian-Veggies.com where he is now taking online orders for produce and via WeChat as well.
Shirley Tang, who is a teacher at the University of Massachusetts said that in order for the Asian-American community to thrive and live from these tough times, they need to not just build their own business but also find a way to enliven the entire block and community.
The future of every business in the Asian-American community is uncertain at this point. Even with the easing lockdowns and the reopenings happening, people are still skeptical of stepping outside of the house or even going out to eat, which is one of the reasons why their businesses are likely going to take quite some time to recover, if at all.
