Credit:<\/span>Steven Siewert<\/cite><\/p>\nAlan Chu is a second-generation business owner of Mother Chu\u2019s Taiwanese Gourmet, which has served customers in Sydney\u2019s Chinatown for more than three decades. In late 2018, right after graduating from university, the then-21-year-old was handed the reins to the business – not too long before the twin crises of Black Summer and COVID-19.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen its ups and downs,\u201d Chu told this masthead in a phone call from the restaurant kitchen in between orders.<\/p>\n
While some foot traffic is drifting back into Chinatown, Mr Chu is hoping for the trickle to turn into a steady stream of customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a gradual increase in people coming over,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re all happy at the prospect of this year hopefully being the final year of such a global problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s spoken to other restaurant operators across Chinatown who are also seeing the same gradual return of consumer confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut this pandemic, this Omicron variant, is still ongoing. We\u2019re in that middle ground \u2026 You\u2019re trying to get to the finish line, but you\u2019re just not there yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
The neglect of Chinatown has been a slow burn predating COVID-19, Mr Chu said, with the new developments of Barangaroo and the bustling Darling Square precinct stealing the spotlight – as well as business and government investment.<\/p>\n
The developments meant that once the pandemic rolled around, Dixon Street \u2013 already struggling \u2013 buckled under the economic strain of protracted lockdowns and the sudden dearth of office workers. The foot traffic that typically would have flowed to Chinatown has been diverted to neighbouring Darling Square. Cultural institutions \u2013 Golden Century, Marigold among them \u2013 were pushed to the brink and forced to shut down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s just a big divide, there\u2019s a huge contrast,\u201d Mr Chu said. \u201cYou can\u2019t believe that just walking across the road can feel like a different place.\u201d<\/p>\n
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One of the laneways off Darling Square, off Chinatown in Sydney.<\/span>Credit:<\/span>Edwina Pickles<\/cite><\/p>\nOver the weekend, the City of Sydney kicked off the Lunar New Year Festival, which will stretch from January 29 to February 13 and span Chinatown, Haymarket and Darling Harbour. On Saturday night, nearly 5,000 people flocked to Chinatown, according to figures from the City of Sydney.<\/p>\n
By Sunday morning, however, foot traffic had dropped back down to its usual levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt goes to show that a little bit of support in this area – decorations and lights and things like that – comes a long way,\u201d Mr Chu said.<\/p>\n
But he also noted that Lunar New Year only comes around once a year. Further support from local councils and governments could prevent more Chinatown institutions from being consigned to history. \u201cI know that the pandemic has been an unprecedented thing \u2026 but at the same time, I just hope they notice us a bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kevin Cheng is the co-founder of not-for-profit community group Soul of Chinatown that aims to revitalise the historic strip. A patron of Sydney\u2019s Lunar Festival, he marvelled at the volume of visitors on Saturday night, who were there despite Omicron.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were queues in front of restaurants again \u2026 queues outside bubble tea shops \u2026 shops were opening late again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
All it took was a little \u201cinvestment\u201d, \u201cinnovation\u201d and \u201cjust being kind of brave\u201d, he added. \u201cThe crowds that you saw [on Saturday] – it should be like that more often than once a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Cheng doesn\u2019t see Darling Square as part of Chinatown; the two precincts have their own distinct identities. \u201cYou can\u2019t recreate the radiation and the history in Chinatown. You just can\u2019t have that anywhere else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not just a matter of tidying up. \u201cWe want to see [the] interweaving [of] history, culture, and public art, and all that stuff, so people will actually want to go there,\u201d Mr Cheng added.<\/p>\n
The new year also brings the promise of open borders, which means more tourists, international students and workers, and better business prospects.<\/p>\n
\u201cLunar New Year brings a lot of hope and a lot of optimism … it\u2019s very symbolic,\u201d Mr Cheng said. \u201cThere\u2019s still some ways to go, and the opening of international borders is vital to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
David Zhou owns Oriental Teahouse, which has two stores in Melbourne. The Little Collins Street store, which has been open since 2008, is not situated within what\u2019s considered Chinatown Melbourne, but is about two and a half blocks away.<\/p>\n
During the pandemic, the 62-year-old managed to keep the doors open – even during Melbourne\u2019s multiple lockdowns – by shifting to takeaway-only.<\/p>\n
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David Zhou, the founder of Oriental Teahouse, Melbourne.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWe are busy,\u201d Mr Zhou tells this masthead. The challenge, actually, is taking on more; staff shortages, an issue that has impacted nearly every company and sector but poses a particular problem for retail and hospitality, continues to squeeze.<\/p>\n
The size of the Oriental Teahouse workforce, which was roughly 100 before the pandemic, is now down to some 70 staffers.<\/p>\n
Mr Zhou added his immediate focus was not on opening more stores to grow profits, but instead help his current team of employees prosper.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you are in my position, and when you see the long-term staff, they work with you, and then they purchase a property, and they send kids to school \u2026 you might think, \u2018oh good. Nothing to do with me.\u2019 But the more you do that, the more you feel the responsibility of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes – it\u2019s my business. But I don\u2019t really see it\u2019s mine, only, alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I really want to provide people in hospitality, whoever [is] involved with the journey \u2026 [the chance to] become a millionaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every time a staff member buys a property, he crosses another figure off in his head, he says. \u201cEach time, when I cross [someone off], it feels so good \u2026 it\u2019s like a fuzzy feeling,\u201d he said. \u201cMuch more rewarding than \u2026 launching this, launching that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stay across the most crucial developments related to the pandemic with the Coronavirus Update. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for the weekly newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nMost Viewed in Business<\/h2>\nFrom our partners<\/h3>\n
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