1) The report analyzes issues faced by Asian restaurants in Austin based on surveys of 16 restaurants near UT. It finds that many owners are immigrants who face challenges with language barriers and lack of free time. 2) It recommends that GAACC (1) increase marketing to boost membership, (2) partner with organizations providing immigrant resources, and (3) reconsider targeting Asian restaurants specifically due to their unique circumstances and existing networks. 3) While the AsianEatsATX directory could help larger expanding restaurants, most surveyed restaurants were satisfied with their marketing and hesitant to join new organizations due to costs. Further diverse surveying is needed to make broader conclusions.

1. Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce
AsianEatsATX
Report
Tiffany Yung
5-9-2016

2. Introduction
This report is a compilation of macro-level issues faced by Asian restaurants in Austin,
Texas. History is a necessary tool to understand the needs and backgrounds of a community in
the present day. Based upon the histories, market studies, surveys, and interviews of Asian
restaurants, I will provide three recommendations for GAACC.
History of Asian Restaurants
Starting in 1849 during the Gold Rush in California, thousands of young Chinese men
flooded into the U.S., mostly to the West Coast. These workers came to build railroads, dig
mines, and perform industrial work. They would send money back to relatives and make
temporary trips home. In order to feed the large Chinese population in California, early Chinese
restaurants or “chow chows” were created by Cantonese Chinese workers (Essman). Although
Chinese restaurants were established during the Gold Rush, they quickly grew in number due to
anti-Chinese violence in the late 1800s. In the beginning, many Americans would mock the
Chinese and look to their food in disgust, thinking they ate rats and dogs. In addition, Americans
thought it was strange that they ate rice with chopsticks and called tofu “bean cheese”. Because
they regarded these practices as un-American, White Americans continued to separate
themselves from the Chinese.
Although Chinese food was not liked among Americans, the prejudices the Chinese faced
from Whites pushed them into the restaurant industry. Because of “Yellow Peril”, the idea that
Chinese laborers were stealing jobs from Whites, violence against the Chinese broke out. This
drove Chinese men into the laundry mat and restaurant industries, as cooking and cleaning were
regarded as women’s work and thus non-threatening to Whites.

3. However, in 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. Although this law barred
the entry of Chinese laborers, it allowed preferred visas for Chinese businesses. This exception
led to the creation of many Chinese restaurants. “Owners of particular businesses could obtain
“merchant status,” which enabled them to enter the United States and sponsor relatives” (Lee). In
addition, a 1915 court case granted special immigration privileges to Chinese restaurant owners,
leading Chinese entrepreneurs to create restaurants to bypass U.S. immigration laws. Between
1910 and 1920, in New York City, the number of Chinese restaurants nearly quadrupled, and
then more than doubled the next 10 years (Lee). By 1930, restaurants became the largest
employers of Chinese workers, surpassing the Chinese laundry industry. Despite the large
number of restaurants created, U.S. requirements to gain merchant status were arbitrary and
rigid, as reaching merchant status was not simple. “The Immigration Bureau would assign this
status only to the major investor in a “high grade” restaurant, and these individuals must also
have managed their restaurants full time for at least one calendar year, refraining during that time
from any menial work as cashiers, waiters or the like” (Lee). In addition, because immigration
agents did not trust Chinese applicants alone, the bureau required two White character witnesses
to be interviewed and establish credibility for Chinese applicant claims. Most of the time, the
Immigration Bureau would only recognize one merchant per restaurant.
To pass all these strict guidelines, the Chinese adapted their restaurants. In the 1910s to
1920s, it took $90,000 to $150,000 capital in 2015 dollars, in order to start-up Chinese luxury
restaurants (Lee). Because few people alone had this much money, the Chinese pooled their
money and resources to open up restaurants as partnerships. Major investors rotated managerial
duties among themselves every year, qualifying everyone as merchant status (Soma). In addition,
they partnered with White vendors, to help with immigration applications.

4. As Chinese restaurants catered to American pallets and health concerns, Chinese food
steered from its “authenticity”. In the 1960s, a letter to the New England Medical Journal blamed
monosodium glutamate for a range of unpleasant symptoms—drowsiness, bloating, nausea,
dehydration, headaches—classified as “Chinese restaurant syndrome” (Soma). In 1965, as
immigration laws were liberalized, large scale migrations from all over Asia occurred. This led
to an influx of other Asian cuisines such as Thai and Vietnamese (Soma). In addition, in 1972,
President Richard Nixon visited China, which sparked more demand for an authentic “ethnic”
dining experience (Life). Recently, Chinese farms have produced traditional vegetables, and
Chinese spices, sauces, and luxury ingredients are imported to make foods more authentic. The
American taste continues to dictate the content of Chinese menus, as dishes are steamed instead
of fried.
Currently, in the U.S., there are more than 50,000 Chinese restaurants, which is more
than three times the number of McDonald’s franchises (Life). Most Chinese restaurants in the
U.S. are individually or family owned, as it is an easy industry to enter, but have high risks for
failure. However, it seems as though Chinese restaurants will keep its reign as the largest ethnic
cuisine for decades to come.
Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce
GAACC is a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote the Asian American
community by driving economic growth for businesses with ties to Asia and Asian Americans—
through educating, connecting with, and advocating for the Austin community. For the past
semester, Madalyn Nguyen and I have both contributed to the AsianEatsATX initiative, an
online directory that seeks to increase the market share of mom-and-pop Asian restaurants by

5. helping them establish online presences. We surveyed and interviewed 31 restaurant owners to
gather information on the needs of Asian restaurants.
Survey Results
Although we approached 31 restaurants, we only received responses from 16 restaurants.
Because we only surveyed restaurants from MLK to 35th
street and Guadalupe to Pearl, near UT,
it is important to note that our survey and recommendations are skewed. Because our surveyed
population was Asian restaurants in West Campus, our data may not represent the greater
population. In addition, because we only received a handful of responses, our conclusion may
not be based on a sufficient amount of data on Asian restaurants in Austin. However, we were
still able to learn about individual cases.
Challenges
We faced many challenges along the way. First, some owners were fearful that we were
part of the government, as one said “they have a policy against filling out surveys”. Next, many
owners were hard to find, as the workers worked autonomously. Owners would pop in randomly
to check up on their restaurant, but they would rarely stay. Lastly, many owners did not speak
English, as employees would have to act as translators.
Halal Brothers Case
In addition to our surveys, we were able to interview the owners of Halal Bros. Currently,
four brothers own and run the restaurant, splitting managerial duties among themselves and
considering major decisions together. They are looking to expand, as they each want to own his
own location. Long term, they want to own their own property, and when the business reaches its
maximum profit capacity, sell the whole company. Despite this goal, their family has been part
of the food industry since the brothers were young, as their father owned a restaurant in New

6. York City. They wanted to bring Middle Eastern food to Austin, and introduce their culture here.
One of their biggest challenges working in America as Asian Americans is that they had to
educate people on Palestinian street food and Palestinian culture. For a long time, Indians and
Asians were their main customers. They recently bought the land next to them and expanded the
restaurant, conducting most of the construction—breaking walls, painting murals, building
tables—themselves. They have felt discriminated against for being a Middle Eastern, non-White
business; however, the discrimination has never been explicit. For example, when dealing with
the government, it took the American franchise In&Out a few weeks to receive the permits to
start construction, while it took months for Halal Bros.
Macro-level Issues of Asian Restaurants
Class
The legal system is slanted towards the interests of the owning class. Although the
working class can pressure the government to make changes, it is up to the owning class to
choose how to implement these changes (Kaufman 63).We can see this in the example of Halal
Bros and In & Out. In & Out, a large million dollar country-wide franchise, only waited a couple
of weeks for their petition to be filed and to be allowed to start construction. On the other hand,
Halal Bro’s, a one store business, waited months for their construction petition to pass. The legal
system leans towards helping those that have more money. In most cases, money equates to
power, and if you have more money, your company has more power. As most Asian restaurants
are very small, they are neglected by the government, while larger businesses are given more
privileges.
Immigration

7. In the U.S., there are 11 million undocumented Asian immigrants (Markon). Historically,
Chinese restaurants in New York City typically employed four cooks and five waiters, who were
related by friendship or kinship to the primary investors. “For the sake of family, Chinese
restaurant employees were expected to work for low wages and perform physically demanding
labor without complaint” (Lee). Consequently, the average employee in such restaurants earned
less than one-third of the national average of wages for food service employees (Lee). “Many
argue that many Asian small businesses are only able to turn a profit by exploiting their workers”
(Le). In order to keep overhead costs low, owners have very few or no paid employees, and
frequently work 18 or more hours a day (Le).
Because restaurant owners utilize such persons as cheap labor in order to sustain their
business, some restaurant owners and employees may be undocumented or refugees. Recently, I
met one student who worked at a Thai restaurant in Austin, who said she was paid under the
table, because legally she cannot work in the U.S. and can only be here for school. However, she
had to work in order to pay for her car and so that she could stay more than a semester at UT.
Because many of these restaurant owners employ undocumented immigrants, exploit their
workers, and pay under the table, many fear the government. This is because they are not
complying with current laws. This just shows how GAACC needs to emphasize their separation
from the government—that they are a membership organization.
Recommendations
1) Increase Marketing Efforts
When we asked owners whether they knew GAACC, many noted that they believe they have
catered to them before, but they weren’t sure. GAACC needs to better market the organization,
increasing their brand recognition, which will increase their membership. It can better market

8. through providing free networking mixers or events where newcomers can see the benefits of
this organization, before they pay any dues.
2) Partner with Other Organizations
While studying this market, we realized that the main needs of this community are not
business related. Because many owners and employees are immigrants, they may deal with
immigration issues, or need English language classes. Although GAACC does partner with the
AARC, they need to emphasize the non-cultural resources available for their potential members.
3) Reevaluate Target Population
After surveying and interviewing these restaurants, I believe that Asian restaurants are not a
good target population for GAACC. I acknowledge that it is important for there to be a diverse
portfolio of businesses represented in GAACC; however, there are several reasons why this
industry would be hard to bring in.
First, because many owners do not speak English, many of their employees act as translators.
However, because GAACC conducts its business in English and these employees would not
attend meetings, it would be inefficient to recruit translators for owners.
Furthermore, 50% of these owners work alone or with their spouse, so the restaurant is run
entirely by them and 25% employ 2-10 people. Because these restaurant owners do not work
typical 8-5 jobs, they are constantly busy. “Because many people are working a lot more hours
than was the average 20 years ago, fewer people have time to get involved “(Kaufman 270). We
tried to interview the owner of Song La, and for the two times we went, she said it would be a 30
minute wait for food. When we asked when would be a good time for a quick interview, she said
that she had no free time at all. Her only day off is Saturday, when her and her husband spend the
whole day shopping for next week. If owners like her don’t even have 10 minutes, I question

9. whether they will be free to go to a two hour meeting. We ran into similar situations with three
other owners who were too busy to take a paper survey, even during non-meal times.
In addition, many restaurants operate autonomously, unlike law firms. They only need to
meet city standards and file taxes, which have already been met when creating the establishment.
However, they would only need extra help from GAACC with government contracts and legal
issues, if they were looking to expand. The restaurants that are currently on the directory have
multiple locations, such as Chilantro, showing how GAACC could provide resources for
individuals looking to expand.
Additionally, there is already a network among Asian restaurants, which are connected by
their supply chains. There are multiple suppliers such as Minamoto Foods, which provide
supplies to various Asian restaurants in Austin. In addition, many of the owners are partners at
other Asian restaurants, proving how tight the network among Asian restaurants are. If there
were already a network available through supply chains, then it would be redundant for GAACC
to ask owners to pay money to network. However, GAACC can partner with Asian food
suppliers to bring their network of restaurants into the organization. If GAACC still wants to
target Asian restaurants, they should find those that are expanding, and show them the benefits of
having connections to legal and government officials at hand.
Interest in AsianEatsATX
In addition, AsianEatsATX was an initiative to help these restaurant owners market their
business. Based on the survey results, 69% of these restaurants are happy with their marketing
efforts. Adding another platform would add complications, as some owners noted that they
didn’t have time to use the existing marketing platforms. In addition, they would not need

10. marketing classes, as 87.5% of the businesses have social media platforms and 75% have their
own website. Also, 94% of these businesses own Yelp accounts.
When asked whether the online directory would be useful to these businesses, many were
apprehensive. One owner noted that they “operate on razor-thin margins and do not have the
ability to pay too much of that kind of thing”. These restaurants near campus mainly market
through word of mouth and as students pass by. These businesses seemed hesitant to join an
exterior organization, as they did not want to spend their profits to pay dues and thought their
marketing efforts were already succeeding.
Conclusion
These recommendations are limited and based upon limited knowledge, as these surveys
were only conducted with restaurants near UT. Further surveying is suggested as there needs to
be more geographic diversity to make a more accurate analysis.

11. Works Cited
Essman, Elliot. "Chinese Cuisine in the United States." Life in the USA. N.p., 2014. Web. 9 May
2016. <http://www.lifeintheusa.com/food/chinese.htm>.
Kaufman, Cynthia. "Capitalism and Class." Ideas for Action : Relevant Theory for Radical
Change. N.p.: South End Press, 2003. 57-80. Print.
- - -. "Where Are We Going and How Do We Get There?" Ideas for Action : Relevant Theory for
Radical Change. N.p.: South End Press, 2003. 269-304. Print.
Le, C.N. 2016. "Asian Small Businesses" Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America.
<http://www.asian-nation.org/small-business.shtml> (May 5, 2016).
Lee, Heather R. "The Untold Story of Chinese Restaurants in America." Journalist's Resource.
N.p., 10 June 2015. Web. 9 May 2016.
<http://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/immigration/ untold-story-chinese-
restaurants-america>.
Markon, Jerry. "U.S. illegal immigrant population falls below 11 million, continuing nearly
decade-long decline, report says." The Washington Post. N.p., 20 Jan. 2016. Web. 9 May
2016. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2016/01/20/u-s-illegal-
immigrant-population-falls-below-11-million-continuing-nearly-decade-long-decline-
report-says/>.
Soma, Jonathan, prod. "The United States of Chinese Food." Episode #3. Gastropod. N.p., n.d.
Web. 9 May 2016. <https://gastropod.com/the-united-states-of-chinese-food/>.