San Francisco Chinatown is hit by the new crown pandemic, huge businesses "fight for survival"

　　Chinanews.com, January 19, according to the US "World Journal" report, San Francisco Chinatown has a history of more than 170 years and has faced many challenges. By 2020, the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic has brought Chinatown an unprecedented challenge. This challenge From the economy.

　　According to data in May 2020, the business of Chinatown merchants has decreased by 70%; San Francisco State University’s Asian research data in July 2020 shows that 50% to 75% of Chinatown stores are either closed or vacant, which is usually the busiest The streets of Duban are empty, with sparse pedestrians, let alone doing business.

　　The owner of the famous Sanhe Chinese restaurant in Chinatown said that the month before the outbreak of the epidemic in March 2020 was the Lunar New Year. At that time, the business of restaurants in Chinatown was not as good as those in Union Square and North Shore District. In March, the home shelter order was implemented. Small businesses in Chinatown are obviously behind when applying for PPP loans from the federal government because of language problems. When the application materials are translated, the loans have been exhausted.

　　At that time, Sanhe applied for federal relief from US$5,000 to US$10,000, but was rejected.

In order to survive, Sanhe and other Chinese restaurants participated in a plan to deliver food to the elderly. If it had not participated in this plan, Sanhe would have been unable to sustain it.

　　Some restaurants can continue to support the take-out business, but not every restaurant is suitable for take-out business. For example, the century-old Kang Nian Restaurant closed its doors. Kang Nian can host a banquet for 500 people, but it is not suitable for take-out business.

　　Under the impact of the epidemic, merchants in Chinatown are struggling to survive.

In desperation, the merchants jointly wrote to the mayor requesting financial assistance.

The city government finally launched a $1.9 million rescue small business plan to support 80 Chinatown restaurants, cafes and bakeries to deliver food to low-income families in Chinatown, and the city government will pay for the food.