{"id":1645,"date":"2022-03-24T16:18:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T16:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linksus.net\/al-roker-explores-americas-changing-chinatowns-on-family-style-today\/"},"modified":"2022-03-24T16:18:00","modified_gmt":"2022-03-24T16:18:00","slug":"al-roker-explores-americas-changing-chinatowns-on-family-style-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/2022\/03\/24\/al-roker-explores-americas-changing-chinatowns-on-family-style-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Al Roker explores America's changing Chinatowns on "Family Style" – TODAY"},"content":{"rendered":"

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From California to Montana to New York, cultural enclaves built by generations of immigrants provide a glimpse into the rich history of the Chinese American experience \u2014 and the many foods we enjoy today as a result.
Rising rents and a changing population were already whittling away the nation\u2019s oldest Chinese restaurants when Covid-19 hit. Businesses in San Francisco\u2019s Chinatown lost an average of 70 percent of revenue within the first three months of the pandemic, a report from the Chinatown Community Development Center stated. And in New York City\u2019s Chinatown, 380 of its 1,670 ground-floor storefronts currently stand empty, according to the city’s Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation. Still, those that remain say they are maintaining a sense of resilience.
On the latest episode of his streaming series \u201cFamily Style\u201d on TODAY All Day<\/a>, Al Roker explores the history of America\u2019s Chinatowns and learned how Chinese cuisine became a staple on tables across the country.
Though urban hubs such as San Francisco and New York City are known for their iconic Chinatowns, Al kicked off his journey in a city few might expect: Butte, Montana. That\u2019s where Pekin Noodle Parlor, the longest continuously operating Chinese restaurant in the U.S., stands as a remnant of the bustling mining city that attracted thousands of immigrants at the turn of the 20th century.
Built in 1909, the building that houses Pekin Noodle Parlor first opened as a tobacco shop and casino, fitting for an Old West-era town popular for its gambling, saloons and red light district. When the noodle shop started operating upstairs two years later, everything it served came across the ocean from China.
\u201cThey didn\u2019t make soy sauce in America,\u201d fourth-generation owner Jerry Tam said. \u201cThe noodles were fried and brought over on ships because they didn\u2019t make fresh noodles. So the history of this place really holds true that this is a Chinese restaurant, from Chinese immigrants.\u201d
By 1914, more than 60 Chinese-owned businesses populated Butte\u2019s thriving Chinatown. Merchants (which included restaurant owners) were among those exempt from the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, paving the way for generations of Tam\u2019s lineage to enter the country and help run the family restaurant.
For decades, Chinatowns flourished as they became tourist destinations for Americans of different backgrounds, especially when they got a taste of culinary crazes like that of chop suey, a dish consisting of vegetables mixed with a gravy often served on top of chow mein noodles.
But as industrial production waned in the 1950s, mining towns such as Butte emptied out. Today, the Butte city directory lists Pekin Noodle Parlor as the only chop suey restaurant left in business.
\u201cI\u2019ve been asked the question, \u2018What is the future of the Pekin?\u2019\u201d Tam said. \u201cAnd the best answer I could give you is, let\u2019s just keep it the same. Let\u2019s not change anything. \u2018Cause that\u2019s what people come here for.\u201d
In the country\u2019s oldest Chinatown, San Francisco\u2019s Far East Cafe is one of the last remaining historic Chinese banquet halls, with its 100-plus-year-old chandeliers and lanterns imported from China. It had planned to commemorate its 100-year anniversary with a celebration, but now, the biggest restaurant left in Chinatown expects to shut its doors for good.
Even as it stayed afloat with the help of its Paycheck Protection Program loan and the generosity of its landlord, the business struggled to overcome the xenophobic avoidance of Chinese restaurants coupled with fear within the Chinese community as hate crimes soared.
\u201cPeople saw the attacks when they watched the news and heard reports, and they got even more scared,\u201d owner Bill Lee said. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to go out, even for special events like the Mid-Autumn Festival. We tried to invite them, but they didn\u2019t want to come.\u201d
Beyond pandemic-related challenges, the closures of mom-and-pop eateries in recent years also prompt the question of what\u2019s next for these legacy restaurants. One chef in New York City is testing a new business model by investing in the popularity of fusion cuisine.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Lucas Sin didn\u2019t experience his first taste of Chinese American food \u2014 dishes like orange chicken or General Tso\u2019s chicken \u2014 until he attended a summer camp in the U.S.
His love for this type of fare ultimately inspired him to launch Nice Day, an enterprise with plans to buy family-owned Chinese restaurants facing closure, remodeling them into Chinese American takeout restaurants. Sin opened his first Nice Day pop up in New York City last summer and will open the first permanent location on Long Island this spring.
\u201cIt\u2019s important to me that these new (restaurants) work with the previous generation of owners, because they have a lot of knowledge that we don\u2019t,\u201d Sin said. \u201cThey know their customers. They know what sells. They know how to cook these dishes.\u201d
Sin said he aims to \u201cgive back to this last generation\u201d to ensure these owners can retire well while having their legacy preserved in a new type of restaurant serving untraditional Chinese American dish combinations like mapo mac and cheese.
\u201cWe have lost so much during the pandemic,\u201d culinary historian Grace Young told Al, \u201cand I think it makes us all so much more conscious that we have to protect what we love.\u201d
“Family Style with Al Roker” airs Wednesday, March 23 at 11:30 am ET. <\/strong><\/em>
Adam Kaufman is a video producer at TODAY.\u00a0
Angela Yang is an intern for NBC News’ diversity verticals.
© 2022 NBC UNIVERSAL<\/p>\n

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