Asian American business community grows, seeks to organize

Mayors and local politicians are expected at small business ribbon-cuttings – but international diplomats speaking on U.S.-China foreign policy? Not so much. The appearance of Deputy Consul General Jin Qian of New York’s Chinese Consulate at the opening of the New England Asian American Cultural Center in Milford on Aug. 19, highlighted the growing size and influence of the New Haven area’s Asian American business community. “I can feel the respect, the passion for humanity and the atmosphere of cooperation,” Qian said of the new center at 49 Research Dr., which brings together the operations of Wu Dang Kung Fu Academy and Aiping Tai Chi with additional programs in Chinese language and culture. The Milford center opening came at the end of summer that had seen several new Asian American-owned businesses open in and around the area. On one block of Chapel Street alone in downtown New Haven this summer, Zakka Yale boutique and Tous Les Jours Korean bakery both opened their doors “I think that this is the kind of community … where we support each other, we learn from each other, we share the different treasures that we bring from our own backgrounds with each other,” New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said at the July opening of Zakka Yale, which offers an array of Asian foods, beauty products, toys and housewares. “I’m very grateful that you bet on us.” Elicker followed up by speaking briefly in Chinese – he spent two years in Taiwan as a foreign service officer in the U.S. State Department before moving to New Haven. Asian Americans have also become frequent participants in business accelerators around New Haven, creating new products and launching startups. A showcase last fall of food entrepreneurs at Atticus Market in New Haven featured Bo-yi superfood teas with Asian ingredients like jujube, created by Tiffany Leong. The teas are now sold at specialty food stores and Asian supermarket chain H Mart. New Haven-based Fire Ox Foods, co-founded by Jason Yang, recently inked a deal to distribute its frozen vegan entrees at natural foods grocery chain MOM’s Organic Market. City officials have taken note of both the increasing Asian American and Pacific Islander population in New Haven and the growing Asian American business community, Elicker said. “As the community grows, you're more likely to see more structure and people organized,” he said. At the forefront of that organization is aapiNHV, a new coalition formed in 2021 after a national spate of anti-Asian violence. The group announced its formation in March in front of a Laotian restaurant on Temple Street that had experienced vandalism and violence. Bringing together the Asian American and Pacific Islander business community is a priority for the organization, leader Christine Kim said. Plans have been launched for a business directory to help with networking and support each other, she said. Another effort in the planning stages is a series of storefront portraits telling the personal stories of individual Asian American entrepreneurs and how they ended up running their businesses. But ongoing anti-Asian American violence may slow efforts like the business directory, Kim said. “At first, we were like, ‘Oh, let's print the directory,’ ” Kim said. She said some community members responded, “Actually, we don't feel comfortable with that – at this point we're being targeted.” Immigrant business owners face cultural isolation and language barriers and may have difficulty accessing information on loan programs or support from local chambers of commerce, Kim added. Groups like aapiNHV, which bring together Asian American and Pacific Islander residents from varied backgrounds and experiences, can help bridge the gap. “We want to support our businesses but realize that they struggle, and are not necessarily connected with all of the rest of what happens in New Haven,” Kim said. “They've tried to reach out, but there’s just been a chasm. And so that's where we want to step in and support them.” RELATED: International Appeal: Asian markets vie for growing population amid heightened competition