Businesses — ASU at UVA

Though often associated with Washington, D.C, Virginia has its own range of Asian/Pacific Islander/South Asian American-owned (APISAA) businesses. In fact, Fairfax County itself, located in Northern Virginia, is home to over 25,000 Asian-owned businesses. Furthermore, Annandale is considered the “unofficial ‘Koreatown’ of the Washington metropolitan area” and there are even more Asian-owned restaurants farther south in Virginia Beach. According to The Commonwealth Institute, 7% of all entrepreneurs in Virginia are APISAA immigrants, highlighting the important economic contribution that they have in the state as well as the diverse communities in the DMV. 

Entrepreneurship has a strong history in the APISAA community, stemming from the persistence APISAA immigrants endured while navigating the complexities of the job market. Following 1965, with the increase of Asian immigrants to the United States, many faced the struggle of finding a stable income. Barriers such as not being fluent in English, not having ‘transferable credits’ from universities despite having experience and skills, and finally racial discrimination, all made acquiring a job extremely difficult. As a result, opening businesses was often the last and only resort. The geographical concentration of APISAA immigrant-owned businesses is what gave rise to ethnic enclaves/cultural towns such as Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Little Saigon, Koreatown, and more. The tight-knit fabric of these towns was often held together by the strings of businesses. Whether it be restaurants serving traditional food, proaviding haircuts or manicures, or creating decorative flower bouquets, APISAA-owned businesses flourished. Today, Asian Americans are the most likely to own a small business (Asian-Nation).

One of the most popular types of APISAA-owned business are restaurants. For many immigrant job seekers, food was something they knew well and could build upon. Due to racial prejudices and anti-Asian/ anti-immigrant sentiments in the U.S. dating back to the legal atmosphere of the Chinese Exclusion Acts (1882), many Asian immigrant communities are barred from professional (fixed) employment. As a result, many Asian immigrants rely on past knowledge as a means to make a living, a form of self-employment. Hence, the rise of Asian-cuisine restaurants and laundromats–signs of the adaptation necessary for survival. Giving birth to immigrant cuisine, it is important to note the efforts taken by the community to adapt a version of their food in order to make it palatable to the community they are serving as well as the modes that were taken to survive. Food has always been a central part of APISAA identity. It has united communities across Asia and the Pacific Islands, and it is a way to showcase and share their pride in their own culture in an unfamiliar environment. Many of us have likely just wanted to have a taste of home-cooked comfort food, possibly a cultural dish. This is how many APISAA immigrants felt, wanting to make their new home feel more warm, and also make a living out of sharing these familiar flavors.

Today, APISAA-owned businesses play an important role in preserving an array of rich cultures. We can see many examples of cultural conservation in the APISAA-owned restaurants here in Charlottesville. Mochiko owner Riki Tanabe, for example, played an important role in introducing Hawaiian food to Charlottesville. Umma’s, whose food is “heritage reconciling itself with lived/loved experience”, is another popular spot that serves Korean and Japanese cuisine; Thai and Southeast Asian street food can also be found at the restaurant Chimm. Even aside from main course meals, aesthetic cafes can also be found in Charlottesville: C'ville Coffee and Wine is yet another  popular location that was co-founded by Toan Nguyen. It is important to note that in Charlottesville, not only do business owners create thriving restaurants and cafes for themselves, but they also play a prominent role in the greater community. For example, the co-founder of Chimm, Jay Pun, spearheaded “Very Asian”, a festival that celebrates Asian American history by uplifting APISAA voices and stories. Additionally, Toan Nguyen of C'ville Coffee and Wine is the co-founder of CIC (Community Investment Collective), which helps individuals from low-income households in Charlottesville start their own businesses. Other notable APISAA-owned businesses include Jannatul Pramanik Photography and Sri Kodakalla’s art. Jannatul Pramanik, who was the former assistant director of Multicultural Student Services at UVA, aims to capture candid, authentic, and empowering moments for clients. Sri Kodakalla, a UVA alum, focuses on serving the creative and equitable growth of BIPOC artists and youth. Both entrepreneurs not only have incredible businesses but also act as prominent members of the Charlottesville and UVA community. 

Though APISAA businesses are a core part of the Asian American experience in the United States, sustaining such businesses is a difficult undertaking, especially in such a complex society. Take Asian-owned restaurants, for instance. Over time, some APISAA-owned restaurants in the U.S. found the need to create food that appealed to the majority of Americans, who were white. In some instances, in order to “capitalize on opportunity”, many Chinese chefs would often “alter and invent dishes to please them” (NY Times). This was common across many APISAA restaurateurs–popular dishes that have been altered/invented that may be familiar are orange chicken, fortune cookies, and sushi. Doing what was necessary to keep their families afloat financially was a priority for business owners, even if it meant needing to appeal and assimilate to “American” culture. Operating an APISAA business in a predominantly white area can pose difficulties. Asian Market, the Vietnamese-owned Asian corner/grocery store highlighted in our Instagram slideshow, has faced an increase in rent. Insofar that ownership has been transitioned to another family. Charlottesville has been facing an affordability crisis, and this usually disproportionately affects people of color (in places across the U.S., not just Charlottesville). When affordability becomes an issue in a predominantly white area such as Charlottesville, it becomes easy for communities of color to be pushed aside because they often earn lower income than their white counterparts. Supporting small businesses such as Asian Market allows for businesses to stay up and running, contributing to the local economy and cultural diversity. 

COVID-19 posed another unique struggle for APISAA business owners. It caused many businesses to temporarily/permanently shut down or restructure, and business slowed down for many families, creating financial hardships. The issue of anti-Asian sentiment was also something that business owners had to be hypervigilant about, as many small and local businesses were targets for verbal and physical attacks fostered by these attitudes. Employees have been “pushed or spat upon”, says Joanne Kwang, president of Pearl River Mart–the first Chinese American department store in the world, which opened about 50 years ago. She changed employee shifts so they’d feel safer commuting, along with shortening store hours at night. At the start of COVID-19, Pearl River Mart’s “business first fell about 90%” compared to how business was going before the pandemic, “and is now hovering at about 40% of where it was pre-pandemic”. This extent of financial instability is not dissimilar to other AAPI-owned businesses. Even though the pandemic has slowed down, the declines in community, resources and solidarity continue to affect the local entrepreneurs of the APISAA population. 

Supporting local businesses helps support the local economy, and creates a stronger sense of belonging for everyone in a community–not just the APISAA folks who operate these businesses. Below is a list of the businesses we included in our post, as well as other businesses that we were not able to include. Feel free to explore them on your own and support!

Food: 