‘My heart is in Chinatown’: Business owners optimistic as crowds return for Lunar New Year parade
Global News
There were long lineups at New Town Bakery, where the dining room was packed and Susanna Ng and her staff got a taste of the hustle and bustle of the area’s former glory days.
Business owners in Vancouver’s Chinatown are cautiously optimistic about the future after Sunday’s Lunar New Year parade brought massive crowds to the historic neighbourhood for the first time since 2020.
There were long lineups at New Town Bakery, where the dining room was packed and owner Susanna Ng and her staff got a taste of the hustle and bustle of the area’s former glory days.
“Finally, finally because we’re so desperate, when I see everybody moving out you know, when is my turn?,” Ng told Global News in an interview Sunday.
Ng, who has considered relocating her famous eatery known for its steam buns due to Chinatown’s ongoing decline, said she’s hoping COVID “will leave us forever” in 2023.
“People are excited to come back to Chinatown,” said Vancouver Chinese Cultural Centre chair Fred Kwok, who co-organized Sunday’s parade.
After three years of COVID-19 brought an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes, street disorder and graffiti, community leaders and business owners in Chinatown are hopeful the Lunar New Year crowds will help bring visitors back.
“It’s been really tough,” business owner Chirag Malik said.
GMLK Gift Shop has been on Main Street for 17 years and Malik took over its ownership in 2017.
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