China News Service, August 23. According to the US "World Journal" report, with the opening of school districts across the United States one after another, various business districts are also about to shift from the bustling business season to a quiet period.

Small businesses in San Francisco’s Chinatown saw their first economic recovery this summer since the pandemic.

According to small business owners, in the past summer vacation, even if the revenue level rebounded, it still failed to catch up with half of the pre-epidemic level.

And this year's tourists are mainly local and European tourists, and there are many fewer Chinese tourists.

　　The owner of the Chinatown restaurant in San Francisco said that the summer vacation in the United States starts relatively early, most of which starts at the end of June. Therefore, after the National Day holiday on July 4 every year, the peak business season in San Francisco has really started.

Comparing his store's revenue from 2010 to the present in 2012, this year's situation is not ideal compared to normal years. The revenue amount is less than 50% of the previous one, but it is much better than the situation during the epidemic in the past two years. There is a bottoming out trend.

And the structure of tourists in the future will change a lot. The tourists will mainly be guests from Europe and South America, and there will be more guests from Southeast Asia.

　　Talking about the reasons why Chinatown's economy has not fully recovered, some shop owners said that because the impact of inflation will have a delayed effect, people dare not spend money.

Moreover, the weather in Europe this year is relatively hot, which has weakened the enthusiasm of European tourists to travel.

Then there's San Francisco's declaration of a public health emergency over monkeypox, which is why tourists avoid visiting.

　　Facing about 24% of the Chinese population in San Francisco, the business of small businesses in Chinatown is partly for tourists and partly for locals.

For local customers, mainly restaurants.

Although profits are gradually recovering, there are still quite a few restaurant owners who express that they cannot make ends meet and are affected by inflation and try to save expenses as much as possible. For example, they will reduce the employment of personnel, simplify the menu dishes, and the interior layout of the restaurant.

　　According to the owner of the restaurant in Chinatown's Kernel Commercial Street, in order to save costs in the store, there used to be four or five types of shrimp dishes, but now they have been reduced to one.

Previously, the dining table would be equipped with wallpaper, and now a smooth tabletop is used to reduce labor.

Some noodle dishes will be purchased directly from the outside, even if the purchase cost is a little higher, but it saves the labor cost in the store.

Some shop owners no longer hire employees, but invite parents or children at home to help in order to save costs.

　　For small businesses in Chinatown, such as clothing stores, beauty stores and hair salons, which are mainly local customers, the current business is still relatively deserted. According to the owner, it may be because people don't like going out, and they don't have very strong clothes. demand.

However, the store is reluctant to close because it has been in business for many years, and it is too embarrassing to close it like this, so I usually ask friends to help take care of it.

　　This year's small recovery of the summer business wave, although not as good as the level before the epidemic, has undoubtedly brought motivation and hope to small business owners in San Francisco Chinatown to continue to persevere, innovate and change.

(Li Yi)