Conducting Effective Hospitality Marketing Research

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SHA502: Conducting Effective Hospitality Marketing Research
Cornell School of Hotel Administration
Conducting Effective Hospitality Marketing Research Action
Plan
Complete the grid below.
Key Business Problem(s)
Using information from an environmental analysis what is an
effective marketing strategy you can use to address a current
problem or performance gap?
Strategies
Show a SWOT Analysis analyzing marketing date and guiding
your strategic solution.
Steps
Select a target market. Know the Sociocultural, demographic,
economic, technological, political/legal, competitive, ecological
areas of this market.
Determine a strategic position.
Timeline
Create a timeline for the implementation of your strategy.

Measurement/Results
Explain how you will measure the results of the strategy that
you implement.
To submit this assignment, please refer to the instructions in the
course.
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If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and
avoid the people, you might better stay home. - James
Michener
New York City!! Often praised as ‘the Melting Pot of the
World’, it is hard to imagine a city with more diversity in
immigrant communities, cultural expressions, languages,
celebrations, and … cuisine. Beyond the bagels, hotdogs,
pretzels, pizzas, gyros and tacos on virtually every street
corner, there is a world of ‘ethnic restaurants’ where cuisine
and culture meet … or do they? Can food serve as an
ambassador of a culture? Does it feed friendliness,
understanding, and acceptance of the ‘other’?
The potential role of restaurants as facilitators of cross-cultural
understanding and interaction is worth examining. Restaurants
can take the guest on a cultural as well as culinary exploration

that extends even far beyond its doors, or, on the other end of
the spectrum, simply yield to a ‘food is just food’ philosophy.
As one of the most significant, most recent and fastest growing
immigrant groups, the Mexican community and its cuisine shall
be at the center of our exploration through three different New
York neighborhoods. Is it possible to experience Mexican
culture through its cuisine, in a way that would encourage a
respectful and understanding interaction with the Mexican
community in these areas?
I. Jackson Heights
Our culinary journey commences in one of New York City’s
well-known multicultural neighborhoods – Jackson Heights. A
multitude of ethnic eateries, specialty shops, bakeries, and
restaurants set the scene for the diverse jumble of Hispanic,
South Asian, Korean, and Chinese immigrants who live there,
giving the impression of multicultural co-existence and
tolerance.
Annie, a longtime resident and English teacher in Jackson
Heights, perceptively remarks, “This is truly a multicultural
neighborhood, peaceful and tolerant, but the different groups
tend to live in their own community. There is little interaction.”
Describing how the language barrier, cultural and country pride,
and stereotypical prejudice distance the Asian and Mexican
communities, she characterizes the prevailing attitude as one of
neighbors living side by side yet in very different worlds. “They
see each other as being very different, unfamiliar. An ‘I don’t
eat Chinese food’ versus ‘I don’t eat Mexican food’ attitude is
very common.”
After some thought, she points us to a Chinese bakery that is
popular among both Asian and Hispanic locals – a proposed
example of inter-ethnic mingling and communication in spite of
obvious language barriers. Yet the extent of interracial
socialization is limited to the silent transaction between the
Hispanic customer pointing to the pastry of choice, and the
Chinese lady behind the counter. While Hispanics usually order
to take away, Chinese community members are more likely to

eat and socialize ‘in house.’ Even the bakery’s goods are
conveniently segregated in two different counters – one
displaying traditional Chinese pastries, and the other carrying
more “standard” breads for its less-adventurous, non-Chinese
customers.
Such distinct separation is further apparent by the absence of
Asian customers in Mexican eateries. “Asian customers? There
are none.” As the Spanish-speaking owner of a small taco shop
explains, “They go to their places, we go to ours. They like
their food, we like ours.” These local experiences are
illustrative of the kind of interaction and attitudes typical to the
area. As the ‘Jackson Heights research group’ of the City
University of New York Honors College observes, “For the
most part the diverse groups get along because ‘despite physical
proximity, the different groups in Jackson Heights…live in very
different communities’.”
The manager of Fiesta Mexicana largely confirms this
experience. Despite being nearly next door to Asian shops,
businesses, and eateries, there is hardly any Asian-Mexican
interaction in the restaurant. The customers to Fiesta Mexicana
are almost exclusively white-American or Hispanic. When asked
about tensions between the Mexican and Asian communities, he
explains, “I think it’s just that in general they don’t care about
our culture and food. No hostility, just nothing in common.”
According to his experience, showing interest in Mexican
cuisine can be important in becoming more familiar with
Mexican culture. The opinion that Mexican cuisine and
restaurants are cultural representations of Mexico is captured in
one of his smiling comments. Proudly praising one of their
traditional specialties, he assures us it is impossible to eat their
‘Chimichangas ala Caserola’ without thinking about Mexico
with a smile on your lips…
II. North Park Slope and downtown Brooklyn
“Mexican? You want to find Mexican here??” Shaking her head
emphatically from side to side, she chuckles in response to our
apparently ludicrous question. Asking for directions to a

Mexican restaurant in the predominantly black neighborhood of
North Park Slope and downtown Brooklyn is near futile. Such
food establishments are scant, reflecting the small presence of
Mexicans living in the area. Residents can point out the precise
whereabouts of the few Mexicans they know in the community.
“Ralph’s on South Portland and Lafayette – the owner has some
workers, and I think they’re Mexican…7th Corner Hardware
Store – that’s another one you might try...”
In such a neighborhood, where there is minimal contact with
Mexicans, food may become the primary means of introducing
Mexican culture to the larger community. However, restaurants
in North Park Slope and downtown Brooklyn are not always
able to assume this role. As the answers from locals to our
questions disclosed, the ties between culture and food have been
partly broken by a prevailing attitude that food is a necessity
rather than a luxury of high culture. For many in this
neighborhood, eating is dictated by convenience, nutritional
value, and “what the pockets can stand.”
For locals, this demand is met on the corner of Willoughby and
Jay Street, where Super Taco stands proudly as the “Best Tex-
Mexican express in New York City.” Inside, the walls are
adorned with a large sombrero, and a Mexican flag mounted
alongside an American one. At the counter lies a stack of
menus, each of which proudly claims, “Mexican food is rate No.
1 in ethnic foods!”
The attempt to establish a link with Mexican heritage is a weak
one, lost amid the customers who enter and exit the store within
a span of five minutes, take-out box in hand. A frequent visitor
to Super Taco comments, “People are looking for healthy foods,
like rice and beans … I also eat here because it’s about the
flavor… and the price. It’s cheap.” And where does the culture
fit into this equation? “If you’re hungry, food is food. I don’t
care about the culture.” Little wonder that she sees no irony in
the fact that this particular Super Taco is both owned and run by
a Chinese family.
Yet the indifference to culture seems to be true mainly for those

of lower income who are confined to seeking out cheap and fast
food provided by places such as Super Taco. In practice, this
generally means the African-American population. Super Taco
seems to draw its customers primarily from this group, as our
observations and conversations here revealed.
In contrast, just a few blocks away, New Mexicali is a sit-down
restaurant that caters to those who can afford to pay more for an
authentic and friendly experience. Its strongest clientele is
found in the white population, which makes for about 60% of
the restaurant’s total diners according to the manager. And
unlike the bland experience for customers at Super Taco, diners
at New Mexicali are constantly engaged in Mexican culture
during their dining experience, surrounded by elaborate
Mexican décor, music, and bi-lingual staff and menus.
The manager of New Mexicali is convinced that such cultural
engagement is taking place. “Eating is important. You’re
sharing a big joy of life, Mexican way. You can learn a bit more
and talk about more than just food.” Willing to facilitate this
process, he enjoys sharing his culture with his guests as part of
his work. If customers ask or seem interested, he is happy to
talk about Mexican traditions, customs, and way of life.
III. West Village
“Probably most of them here are working, because it’s an
expensive neighborhood to live in. I see a lot of them in
kitchens, delis…” A young man in Washington Square Park
comments thoughtfully on the presence of Mexicans in the West
Village area. He adds: “It seems that a lot of people look down
on them. I’ve noticed that even South Americans look down on
them … and whites look down on Latin Americans in
general…” In West Village, the Mexican community includes
people from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, immigrants
and non-immigrants alike. But to casual observers in this
relatively expensive neighborhood, ‘Mexican’ will most readily
evoke the image of immigrant laborers or blue-collar workers.
This particular group contributes to the bustling scene of
diverse ethnic foods scattered throughout West Village, with

their small, ‘authentic’ food shops.
But while the potential for contact with Mexican culture is high
in such places, discomfort, oftentimes stemming from the
language barrier, deters potential customers from entering.
Marissa, a resident of upper West Village, shares honestly, “I
used to be intimidated because they often only speak Spanish.
You feel unwelcome if they don’t speak English at all. It used
to make me feel uncomfortable, like an outsider at those places.
Like they were thinking, ‘it doesn’t matter if we speak the same
language, we have nothing to share; we don’t care if you are
here or not.’ But once I didn’t feel like an outsider, I came here
more and felt they would welcome me to participate.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Mexican food in West Village
is simultaneously falling prey to the irresistible draw of fast
food culture and big chain restaurants. Brian, a resident who
lives and works in the neighborhood, describes the scene,
“There’s a burrito place around here that’s owned by some
Chinese people. And there’s those ‘American’ version places
like Chipotle or Café Caliente, but not many ‘actual’ Mexican
places – at least I don’t know where to find them.” Another
longtime resident, Michael, confirms the accuracy of this
depiction, admitting, “I eat at Mexican restaurants once in a
while … but it’s mostly Tex-Mex ‘Americanized’ … it doesn’t
seem authentic.”
Culture is watered down to near absence in such
commercialized or Americanized restaurants, further
encouraging disconnect between culture and cuisine. Michael
continues: “Most of the ones [restaurants] I know, the
atmosphere is like other cheap places like Chinese hole-in-the-
wall shops. It’s just burritos instead … I haven’t really felt
closer to the culture [by eating], but maybe if I find a ‘real’
Mexican restaurant then it would be different.”
Nonetheless, there is a promising movement against this
development. Aware of the diminishing presence of Mexican
culture in the more accessible and mainstream restaurants,
Barbara Sibley is committed to celebrating the richness of

Mexico’s history and traditions through her restaurant; La
Palapa, located on 359 Sixth Avenue near Washington Place. “I
think of it [restaurant] as being a kind of ambassador, because
cuisine is very important in learning about a culture or country.
Food is the art of a country. So we are very consciously trying
to break the stereotype … Like of being loud, having cheap food
or cheap ingredients.”
With two locations in East and West Village, it specializes in
“Mexico City style” cooking. Walking into the West Village, La
Palapa guests are immediately greeted by a vast panorama of
Rosa Carmina and other well-known dancers during the 40s and
50s – the golden age of Mexico’s film industry. Further in,
another wall is covered with film stills of a young woman who
many customers mistake for a famous American actress from
decades ago. Ms. Sibley is happy to explain to puzzled
customers that the belle is María Félix – Mexico’s Marilyn
Monroe of the 40s and 50s, who resisted Hollywood’s repeated
efforts to sign her in to play a maid.
Beyond the décor, guests also learn about Mexican traditions
through their interaction with English-speaking, and oftentimes
bi-lingual, waiters. La Palapa’s staff is equipped with Mexican
dish and tequila dictionaries, and ready to explain the details of
each dish on the menu.
It seems that Ms. Sibley’s efforts to foster appreciation of
Mexican culture and heritage have been rewarded in recent
years. She notes, “Initially, people who came were looking for
food like the Taco Bell type. But now you find that people come
because they’re interested in the culture, not just the food.
People know and appreciate the authenticity of this place.”
La Palapa’s success in cross-cultural outreach is evident in the
make-up of its clientele. According to Ms. Sibley, about 20 to
30 percent of customers are Mexican families; the rest is mainly
comprised of a variety of Asians, whites, and travelers who
visited Mexico and wish to recreate their experience abroad.
The publicity they received from media groups ranging from a
Japanese newspaper and the Chinatown News, to India Today,

also stands as a witness to its successful outreach.
IV. Conclusion
Navigating through several different New York neighborhoods,
we have witnessed the potential of Mexican restaurants and
eateries to act as a gateway to experiencing Mexican culture.
At the same time, however, we also observed that in many cases
the ability of Mexican restaurants and eateries to fulfill such a
role is severely limited or underused. These restaurants may be
pressured by popular fast food culture to meet consumer
demand for cheap food, or drawn to the appeal of efficiency
found in standardized chain restaurants – in short,
‘Americanizing’ Mexican food. Although you could argue that
these restaurants represent the perfect example of a ‘melting
pot’ cuisine, in either case, culture is largely ignored or absent.
But even being ‘authentic’ has its costs. Individuals, like
Marissa in West Village and residents of Jackson Heights, are
often dissuaded from frequenting ‘authentic’ local Mexican
restaurants. They are put off by a general unease stemming from
language barriers and the failure to find common ground with
Mexican culture. And while other restaurants succeed in
creating a comfortable, friendly environment for diners who
have no familiarity with Mexican culture, these establishments
are not equally accessible to all socioeconomic groups.
Given such considerations, it is not surprising that many people
express skepticism regarding the role of food in bringing
different ethnic communities together. The initial attitude of our
interviewees was frequently that food does not, in fact, feed
friendliness in everyday life. Food is simply food.
However, most people qualified their original statement after
some thought, adding that food and restaurants could potentially
act as cultural ambassadors. Dave, a recent graduate of NYU
living in Jackson Heights, began his statement, “I don’t think
that food is really a connecting point…” But he changed his
mind after a moment, specifying, “… unless you really love it
and go out your way to talk about it. I work for a cardiologist,

and we have a lot of Spanish-speaking clients. About 1 out of
10 people will say that they love the food [Indian] and then we
connect and have something to talk about…Yeah, it’s always
nice to hear something like that.”
Brian, a resident from West Village, said of restaurants, “It’s
probably the best and most accessible way to interact and
familiarize yourself with the culture in theory anyways –
especially in place like New York. I’d rather do it at a
restaurant – it’s much less intimidating than going to a cultural
festival or something.”
This optimism is not unfounded, as restaurants such as La
Palapa prove successful in reaching out to familiarize others
with Mexican culture. Furthermore, in all the restaurants we
visited, an average of 70-80% of the clientele are regular diners.
This strong connection with the local community implies that
restaurants have much room for influencing perceptions and
interactions that shape attitudes towards the Mexican
community. There is potential for food to become a starting
point for encountering other cultures and bridging different
peoples. Food may not always remain “just food” in the future.
References
Interviewed Persons
1. Annie – Jackson Heights resident and English teacher
2. – Fiesta Mexicana manager in Jackson Heights
3. Shirley – downtown Brooklyn resident
4. Karen – North Park Slope resident
5. Robyn – Super Taco customer, downtown Brooklyn resident
6. – New Mexicali manager in downtown Brooklyn
7. Marissa – upper West Village resident
8. Brian – West Village resident and worker
9. Michael – West Village resident
10. Barbara Sibley – La Palapa owner in West Village

The original Dim Sum Garden was a definitive Chinatown
dumpling dive, a no-frills storefront under the 11th Street
tunnel where devotees braved bus fumes and panhandlers for
xiao long bao, the broth-filled Shanghai wonders also known as
"soup dumplings."By comparison, the new Dim Sum Garden,
which opened on Race Street in September, is a veritable
palace, all curvy lines with layered stone walls and a bright,
open kitchen. The airy room, with triple the seating of the old
location and a dumpling factory in the basement, is the vision of
Dajuan "Sally" Song, 29, a former fashion designer and
business student who persuaded her mother and partner, chef
Shizhou Da, to overcome her reluctance to make the leap.
"Chinatown hasn't changed much for 20 years," says Song. "But
I want people to change their minds and see that Chinese people
can make a fashionable place that's clean and stylish and
authentic."
Dim Sum Garden's metamorphosis has indeed been remarkable.
But with the dragons set to descend upon Race Street in a haze
of firecrackers at the end of January for the Chinese New Year,
it's clear this historic neighborhood is in the midst of a much
wider transformation.
An impressive wave of recent development, with at least a
dozen new restaurants and bars over the last two years, has
turned Chinatown into one of Philadelphia's most dynamic and
fast-evolving dining districts.
Fueled in equal parts by a dramatic influx of Fujianese
entrepreneurs and a changing demographic of diners - especially
a rising population of affluent college students from northern
China - the new menus go well beyond the neighborhood's
traditional Cantonese fare, offering much more diverse regional
cuisines.
Ramen to Vietnam hoagies
There are spicy Sichuan hot pots, Taiwanese meat balls, hand-
pulled noodles from Lanzhou, and cumin-dusted Xi'an lamb
skewers. "Bubble tea" houses and late-night karaoke bars are a

telltale sign of vibrant Asian youth culture. And Chinatown's
already strong collection of non-Chinese flavors continues to
grow as well, from a sleek Japanese ramen counter to a slew of
Vietnamese banh mi "hoagie" shops and a Korean barbecue
house at 913 Race St., where Chinatown's first restaurant, Mei-
Hsiang Lou, opened over a laundry in 1880.
Bar-Ly, an Asian pub with 60 taps of craft beer, and Hop Sing
Laundromat, one of the city's best cocktail lounges, have added
nightlife lures beyond food.
Two massive Night Market events, which drew 25,000 people to
Chinatown's streets, are a testament to the neighborhood's
growing luster in the eyes of mainstream Philadelphia.
Such vibrance seemingly contradicts the foreboding new study
of Chinatowns in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston by the
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. It detailed
dramatically rising property values and warned that, if
unchecked, they would threaten affordable housing for the
working-class Asian immigrants who have long been these
enclaves' economic engine - and ultimately would turn them
into "ethnic Disneylands."
And that sanitized image hardly jibes with scenes one can still
witness here daily, as regulars stop for morning congee porridge
at the Heung Fa Chun Sweet Shop, nibble wine-cooked duck
tongues at Sakura Mandarin, and shop for black-skinned
chickens and live frogs at the subterranean Asia supermarket.
Recent arrivals
"I don't think our Chinatown is threatened in that way anytime
soon," concedes Domenic Vitiello, who teaches city planning at
Penn and worked on the study. He did not dismiss the concerns
of gentrification. But: "That Chinatown is in many ways more
vital than ever in Philadelphia by certain measures is exactly
right."
While residential rents are undeniably rising, and non-Asians
are moving into the neighborhood, the study also notes that
restaurant spaces remain affordable, while so many are still
passed down in the Chinese community.

Yet, in its evolving state, Chinatown's value as a growing
regional hub for modern Asian culture reflects a different
Chinese-driven gentrification that results in "no less an
authentic form of ethnic space," Vitiello says. Though its
central location keeps it relevant for non-Asians and Asians
alike, the emerging picture is less like Disney than a miniature
reflection of Flushing, N.Y., the East Coast's current center for
the most recently arrived Chinese immigrants.
The forces shaping this surge in diverse new options reflect
more subtle but equally potent shifts in the demographics both
of who owns the neighborhood's restaurants, and of the Chinese
diners they serve.
"Don't box Chinatown in as a low-income neighborhood," says
John Chin of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development
Corporation. "The new generation of Chinese immigrants have
money."
The recent arrival of entrepreneurs from Fujian province in
southeast China has marked the biggest change for a
neighborhood that has been controlled since its founding by
immigrants from the coastal city of Taishan in Canton. While
some Fujianese have been in Philadelphia since the Joy Tsin
Lau restaurant opened in 1983, the biggest wave migrated here
from a post-9/11 saturated New York market in the last five to
six years, says Jack Chen, the Fujian-born owner of Sakura
Mandarin.
"They now own close to 50 percent of the restaurants in
Chinatown and have bought up to 40 percent of the properties in
the past 10 years," says Chen, a Cornell graduate who has
researched the neighborhood's real estate for his own
investments. "Individually they don't have a lot of money, but
together as a group they can buy anything."
However, unlike the arrival of Vietnamese immigrants in the
late 1970s, whose pho soups and lemongrass-grilled meats are
now a fragrant fixture in Philadelphia, Fujianese flavors are still
a virtual nonfactor.
"Their cuisine is not too distinguished: Fish balls are their most

well-known specialty," says Peter Kwong, author of several
books on American Chinatowns and a professor of Asian
American studies at Hunter College CUNY.
Instead, the Fujianese, also known for their virtual monopoly on
suburban buffets and takeouts in low-income urban
neighborhoods, have become eager impresarios downtown for
regional cuisines that are currently more popular in China than
Cantonese.
Chen, who this fall doubled the size of Sakura Mandarin with a
stylish renovation, opened his restaurant five years ago with a
Shanghainese soup dumpling focus, then added more Sichuan
flavors - including spicy stir-fry bowls with mix-and-match
ingredients inspired by a popular mall food court stand in
Flushing. He encouraged one of his former chefs, Xinpang
Wang, to branch out and cook the spicy-sour noodles of his
western Chinese roots. The result was Xi'an Sizzling Woks,
which opened last year.
The audience to appreciate these authentic flavors has grown
exponentially with the explosion of affluent Chinese students
now studying at local universities - currently 1,399 at Penn
alone, double the number five years ago. At Temple, there are
884 Chinese students, almost tripled in three years, and
primarily coming from Beijing, Shanghai, and Sichuan.
It's part of a trend reflecting major changes within China, says
Kwong: "Twenty years ago anyone from mainland China needed
a scholarship to come. Today China has become more wealthy
and people now have the money to send their kids on their
own."
And their tastes are distinctly different from those of the Hong
Kong-based students of the past.
"Many of us from the northern part of China don't like
Cantonese food and think it's a little too sweet," says Qingyi
Gong, a freshman at Bryn Mawr College, where 18 percent of
fall's incoming class was Chinese. "Most students like the spicy
flavors of Sichuan food."
Their impact on the newer restaurants in Chinatown is tangible.

"More than 80 percent of my customers are students," says
Michael San Fai Ng, a Hong Kong native of Fujianese descent
who sold his two take-out restaurants in North Philadelphia and
now serves Shanghainese and Sichuan food at his two
Chinatown restaurants, Red Kings and Red Kings 2.
"Walking down the street here 10 years ago, everybody spoke
Cantonese," he said. "But now I need to learn to speak
Mandarin."
Add in a sizable group of first-generation Asian Americans as
well as non-Asian Philadelphians who have come to appreciate
true Sichuan food through Han Chiang's popular mini-chain of
Han Dynasties, and the audience for Chinatown's new chile heat
and regional diversity is even larger.
'A new frat'
The power shift behind the scenes has not always been easy for
members of the old-guard Cantonese, says Warren Leung, 36, a
Chinatown native and part-time resident who once lived above
his parents' restaurant, the now-closed Lakeside Chinese Deli.
"My dad does not think Chinatown is doing well, but he's from
Taishan, so obviously he's about his people," says Leung. "And
now there's a new frat [the Fujianese] taking over."
"I see so much new diversity, and I think it's exciting. When it's
too homogenous we tend to become insular and selfish and we
don't grow, and that very much characterized Chinatown, which
was stuck in its own ways. But there's definitely a movement of
fresh ideas and new blood in Chinatown now."
Among the by-products, aside from changing menus, has been a
greater emphasis on stylish decor to attract the moneyed new
generation, supplanting the Formica table "hole-in-the-wall"
clichs that long defined Chinatown's spaces. Among the dingiest
was the old Dim Sum Garden. The new version, Leung says,
"has become the go-to spot for young professionals."
Dim Sum Garden's Sally Song could not be more thrilled.
"Shanghai is such a pretty place," she said. "I just wanted
people to see what Shanghai looks like."

Essay Assignment #3
Required length: 5-7 pages not including the Works Cited
This assignment requires students to use the ideas from our
readings to develop a research project on the contributions of
certain ethnic restaurants and/or ethnic markets in America.
Your purpose in Assignment #3, like that in Assignment #2, is
to devise your own argument about your chosen subject and to
support your argument, using various sources. The main
difference, however, is that Assignment #3 requires you to
identify a specific topic on your own and to do more extensive
research in developing your arguments than was required in
Assignment #2: you must include direct citations from at least
one course reading and at least five (5) sources from the library
databases. In your essay, you should formulate a clear and
focused thesis and provide a detailed account of your evidence.
As with Assignment #2, you are required to submit a one-page
research proposal describing your research project. Once again,
your research proposal must include a working thesis, your
major points, and a brief description of three sources you plan
to use in your paper. The due date for the research proposal is
on the class schedule.
As mentioned earlier, this assignment is to be driven largely by
your own research and thinking. You should be doing research
as you write, not after you’ve completed a first draft. As
Assignment #2 demonstrated, research and writing are
thoroughly connected. Your research process will involve you
reading, thinking, taking notes, and perusing the databases and
other sources until you have figured out what you want to write.
Then, as you continue writing, you should go back into the
research process again to get new ideas or to find additional

sources. Sometimes your argument shifts or changes as you find
new sources, and this is a good sign that you are doing research-
based writing correctly. Don’t be afraid to change direction in
writing the first draft—you can always improve or clarify your
draft in your revision process.
We will spend a fair amount of time in class identifying
interesting topics, developing research questions, and crafting
solid arguments. Remember that, in a short paper like this, you
cannot write something meaningful about the contributions of
all ethnic restaurants and markets in the country, nor can you
write about every contribution that certain ethnic restaurants or
ethnic markets have made in America. However, you can make a
significant argument about a few major contributions of certain
ethnic restaurants or markets, and that should be your goal.
Topics:
1. As part of ethnic culture themselves, ethnic restaurants and
food have made various cultural contributions in American
society. In “‘I'll Take Chop Suey’: Restaurants as Agents of
Culinary and Cultural Change,” Samantha Barbas illustrates,
particularly using Chinese restaurants and food, that historically
ethnic restaurants have played a major role in cultural and
culinary crossing. She notes that although Chinese restaurants
did little to eradicate racism, they made it possible for
Americans to cross cultural and culinary boundaries (682-683).
In their article “Putting Mexican Cuisine on the Table: The
Cultural Dimension of Cuisine as Connecting Point,” Patricia
Jimenez Kwast and Ji Hae Kim argue that although to some
people ethnic restaurants may be nothing more than a place to
serve food, potentially they can play a role as “facilitators of
cross-cultural understanding and interaction.”
Using certain ethnic restaurants and food, develop an argument
about their roles as cultural ambassadors in American society.
How do the particular ethnic restaurants and food enable

cultural and culinary crossings? How do they bridge cultural
gaps between the ethnic group and Americans? Do they promote
a better understanding of the ethnic group and reduce American
prejudice against them? Do they help Americans construct
positive images about the ethnic group? Do they help the ethnic
group and Americans negotiate and reshape their cultural
identities? These are some of the questions you can consider
while you are exploring your topic.
2. Originally aiming to serve the ethnic population, ethnic
restaurants, food markets, and other institutions (e.g.,
Chinatown Development Corporation) have played important
roles in the ethnic enclave. Among other functions, they have
played the role of providing economic and cultural support to
the ethnic community as well as a haven to new immigrants. In
the article “Carving an official Cambodia Town out of South
Philadelphia,” Joy Manning writes about this economic and
cultural role of ethnic restaurants and food in a recent attempt
of Cambodians living in Philadelphia to create an “official
Cambodia town.” Once this project is over, the enclave will
attract more Cambodian Americans from other cities for home
food comforts and other visitors for the consumption and
experience of the “vibrant Cambodian culture,” which will bring
more revenues to the community (Manning).
Choose an ethnic community (e.g., Little Italy (Italian market),
Little Saigon, Chinatown, Mexicantown, Koreatown, or
Cambodia town), and develop an argument about the
contributions that ethnic restaurants and food markets have
made to the ethnic community. In what ways have the ethnic
restaurants and markets made the life of the ethnic population
better? How have they contributed to the economy of the ethnic
community? How do they help the community to recreate their
distinct culture? These are some of the questions you can
consider while you are exploring your topic.

Research your chosen ethnic community and learn as much as
you can about your topic. In addition, if you want to, you can
visit an ethnic neighborhood and interview some people there
about their perceptions and views about the importance of the
ethnic restaurants and markets in the community.
3. Ethnic food markets can offer Americans in cities such as
Philadelphia many benefits such as access to less expensive,
healthier food with fewer additives, as well as intercultural
interactions and authentic experiences. In the article “Why
Should You Shop at Ethnic Grocery Stores,” Stefan Zajic makes
the argument that more Americans should venture into ethnic
neighborhoods to experience such markets despite fears they
may have of visiting unknown neighborhoods.
Choose a type of an ethnic market that serves a particular ethnic
community (such as Middle Eastern, Indian, Chinese, Korean,
Vietnamese) and develop an argument about its role in the
broader society beyond its local community. Should outsiders to
communities where ethnic markets are located be encouraged to
go to the markets and overcome fears of entering unknown
neighborhoods and perceived linguistic or racial barriers? What
would make their adventure worth stepping out of their comfort
zone? You may use your own observations and interviews to
support your claims. For example, you could interview market
clerks and ask how many outsiders tend to visit this market and
whether their needs/goals for coming to the market seem to
differ from locals. You could also interview other Temple
students and see if they claim to ever go to ethnic markets that
are not in their own communities and their reasons for going or
not going.
3

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Conducting Effective Hospitality Marketing Research

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