San Sun
Irene: May I ask which city in China you and your family are from?
James： I was born in Vietnam, but my parents are from Shantou, Guangdong. I came to the United States in 1979.
Irene: How long have you lived in Chinatown?
James: I have lived in Chinatown for 31 years, and my restaurant has been open for 31 years.
Irene: Why did you choose to open a restaurant in Chinatown?
James: Because my dad and I couldn't speak English at that time, we had to come to Chinatown for business to earn money.
Irene: Can you tell me more about your restaurant? What are the characteristics of your hometown?
James: My restaurant mainly serves Teochew taste. The most famous ones are “Pork-Kidney with Ginger & Onion” and "Combination noodle soup." Many people like them because just a few people serve this type of food.
Irene: What was your original purpose for opening the "San Sun" restaurant?
James: I hope to live a better life and make money in the United States to achieve my American dream. I hope I can open a restaurant and earn enough money to buy a house and a car, and now the dream has come true.
Irene: What setbacks did you encounter at the beginning of your business?
James: 1. We don't understand the rules of opening a restaurant in the United States, and we don't know how to get a liquor license. Since we were too young, we didn't get approved for it. 2. There are not enough funds, so we must borrow money from other people because it has exceeded our budget, and we need about twice as much money as our estimated budget.
James: The difficulty we encounter now is that there is no business after the epidemic. The current business is only about 60% of what it used to be. There used to be 5 waiters working in the restaurant, but now it has been reduced to 2 waiters. I fired a total of 6 waiters because of the epidemic.
Irene: What do you hope to see for the future of Chinatown?
James: Chinatown has a lot of activities, but I don’t think they are helpful to our businesses because those activities can only attract people to Chinatown. I hope there will be more activities that can help small businesses, such as giving gift coupons to tourists so that they will come back in the future to use those coupons.