Chinatown business community works to maintain, grow and innovate

Philly s Chinatown has a long history of serving as a hub for small business owners to try out their entrepreneurship skills and eventually grow and build group ties across the city to Washington Avenue Northeast Philly West Philly and beyond For several however expansion is also key close to home That s been the development with the opening of Ting Ting s Cafe and Lion Sports Bar both of which opened in the past inadequate months to owners who have years of experience running businesses in the neighborhood and across the city Bridging East and West Both sets of entrepreneurs noted how the restaurants are also opportunities to bridge cultures in Ting Ting s development a re-creation of what owner Dan Tsao who also runs EMei describes as the charm and nostalgia of Hong Kong cha chaan tengs known for their affordable combination of Hong Kong and Western cuisine and in Lion s affair a chance to combine Philly s sports lifestyle with a uniquely Asian American fusion menu A lot of young professionals want to try different cultures We have customers who are Chinese American Korean American Black Americans it s a melting pot and a lot of cultural exchange explained Jack Chen who is one of four partners in Lion Sports Bar and is also owner of dessert shop A La Mousse Bai Wei and a partner in Yamitsuke Ramen Chinatown is very vibrant he revealed adding that we need to promote ourselves more to show people throughout the city that we have not just great food but are a big part of American life Ting Ting s Cafe on N th and Cherry Streets brings affordable Hong Kong-style cha chaan teng and Western dishes to Philly s Chinatown Heather Chin Billy Penn That desire to improve outreach is what brought Mark Prinzinger of Happy Hour Philly and Philly Sports Social to the Lion partnership which also includes Chen Yamitsuke s Annie Chi and Kenny Poon who helped bring food hall Chinatown Square and other Philly businesses to life Lion opened in March on Arch Street between th and th streets inside the space formerly occupied by Ding Teng Feng a very traditional Chinese restaurant that struggled to draw new customers until they added the ability to watch Eagles games We were trying to think outside the box and this was a non-traditional way of bringing people into a Chinese restaurant It worked very well it would sell out every week Prinzinger explained noting that after the Super Bowl they decided to transform the space into a sports bar Now they have multiple TVs so they can also patronage a lot of different sports at once We show Formula One and Premier League soccer two very different groups of people in the morning but can still serve both The ability for us to use our space to host so numerous different groups is major The interior dining area at Lion Sports Bar Heather Chin Billy Penn Why name it Lion I m Korean but have been to China four separate times and one thing that struck me was there s these huge sculptures of lions in front of buildings I invariably appreciated that and thought they looked cool As a cat lover myself it inevitably stuck out for me he mentioned Lion is memorable and approachable to people in general Also Ding Teng Feng was hard to remember and pronounce Lion is short and sweet Also sweet is the menu which combines classic Chinese American restaurant items with classic sports bar offerings like burgers wings and fish and chips a menu headed by Ding Teng Feng s executive chef Wang formerly of Susanna Foo s plus combinations like corn ribs and General Tso s Nachos that are a great representation of how we re trying to mirror American Chinese food but with a sports bar flair General Tso s Nachos at Lion Sports Bar Heather Chin Billy Penn Similarly Ting Ting s Cafe opened in January with EMei s Tsao at the helm in the space formerly filled by More Sugar an all-day brunch spot that shared owners with popular Japanese eatery Bubblefish I sought to bring a Hong Kong-style caf to Philly Chinatown because it represents such a unique and special part of Chinese society that has been missing here revealed Tsao Cha chaan tengs are more than just caf s they re vibrant welcoming spaces where people gather to enjoy comforting nostalgic dishes that blend East and West An example of that East-West combo Spicy Kimchi Spaghetti gluten-free combo Baked Creamy Seafood Over Fried Rice Hong Kong-style French Toast Matcha Cheese Tiramisu Cheese Baked Macaroni Bolognese and that Philly necessity wings either soy glazed or five spice Tsao who also runs newspaper Metro Chinese Weekly and launched a food delivery amenity called Rice Van that helped Philly Chinatown businesses stay afloat during the COVID- pandemic by bundling grocery and takeout orders to customers living in other neighborhoods and the suburbs explained that opening another business in the neighborhood came organically Dan Tsao with Chef Wei Wen at Ting Ting s Cafe Heather J Chin Billy Penn Population strength amid economic uncertainty The ability for Philly s Chinatown to attract new businesses while maintaining a committed customer and entrepreneur base is key to its vibrancy and economic strength explained Haoyi Shang commercial corridor manager with the Philadelphia Chinatown Enhancement Corporation PCDC That s particularly so following the successive challenges of the COVID- lockdown anti-Asian discrimination a battle with the city and real estate developers over the proposed ers sports arena and now the Trump administration s escalating tariffs and attacks against immigrants Lion s Chen noted that much higher tariffs have impacted us but we are still fortunate and are able to give good value to customers because we want customers to come in and enjoy We have a good price good reputation and good employees According to PCDC s latest survey in April of local business owners there are major concerns about the impact of federal policies on their operations cited concerns about the impact of immigration enforcement on their businesses employees and customers stated that tariffs have already negatively impacted their businesses and stated that although they haven t felt the impact they are concerned about it The survey also revealed that business owners sought sponsorship via language-accessible plan information more access to funding or grant programs strategy advocacy and representation legal or immigration assistance and help with paperwork or compliance Annie Chi Jack Chen Mark Prinzinger and Kenny Poon at Lion Sports Bar on Arch Street Heather J Chin Billy Penn Diversifying the food and entertainment offerings like having sports on TV and a happy hour is also key to warding off an uncertain economic weather noted Prinzinger I think it s super significant especially for Asian Americans for people to have a place to go and know they can help local businesses In this day and age with several diversity initiatives being cut it s so essential to have a group where you can stay true to your heritage he mentioned It would have been a massive loss to the city if the Sixers arena would have come in and we would have lost the vast majority of Chinatown he disclosed I would like to think that yes Lion Sports would work elsewhere in the city but I think it would have been more of a challenge to do it People walking into a sports bar in Chinatown It makes sense to have that combination And when there s more bars in an area more people are also going to come to the area Between new businesses and the upcoming Chinatown Stitch I- cap park residents and visitors alike are hopeful that the neighborhood will thrive There s a lot of new businesses but lots are franchised commented PCDC s Shang They have their first stores in NYC and then choose Philadelphia or New Jersey to expand their domain People do see anticipated and a strong customer base here Compared to other commercial corridors there are not a lot of vacancies she added It has a small but regularly connected business public and tight organization The post Chinatown business population works to maintain grow and innovate appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY