Restaurants across the United States are suffering, but Chinese restaurants appear to be one of the hardest-hit sectors.
According to CNN, a data subscription service called Womply found that around 59 percent of independent Chinese restaurants had stopped taking credit and debit card transactions as of April 15, suggesting that they’ve ceased operations.
Wellington Chen, executive director of Manhattan’s Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation, told CNN that only 40 of New York City’s 270 Chinese restaurants remain open. Last month, NYC’s biggest Chinese restaurant, Jing Fong, closed temporarily after 40 years, New York Post reports.
Even before businesses were forced to change their normal day-to-day operations, Chinese businesses were struggling. As early as February, Chinatowns across the country began reporting a significant drop in business, according to The Financial Times. Kevin Chan, owner of the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company in San Francisco’s Chinatown, told The Guardian that he estimated he had seen an 80 percent drop in foot traffic through his store. By mid-March several Chinese restaurants in Flushing New York had reported an estimated 50 percent drop in business, according to Business Insider.
Many business owners say racism and fear have contributed to their loss of business, according to The Guardian.
“We are fully targeted because it’s from China,” Chan said. “But it’s not us. It’s everywhere. In San Francisco Chinatown, we didn’t go to China. We’re Chinese American here. Why are we targeted?”
While independent Chinese restaurants struggle, larger chains serving Chinese inspired cuisine are managing to get by. A representative for P.F. Chang’s told CNN that their takeout and delivery business had nearly doubled since mid-march.
“The model that every type of restaurant across our country must currently operate under is, fortunately, one that we know well and are exceptionally good at,” a P.F. Chang’s spokesperson told CNN in an email.
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