Chinatown reassessing its neighborhood and future

ByHeather Grubola and Nydia Han WPVI logo
Thursday, January 23, 2025
Chinatown reassessing its neighborhood and future
Chinatown reassessing its neighborhood and future

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- In Philadelphia's Chinatown section, business owners are reassessing the neighborhood and their future. It comes after the Sixers announced they would not build an arena in nearby Market East.

Chinatown continues to face big challenges: less foot traffic since the pandemic, many residents moving to the suburbs and fewer international students to fuel the neighborhood's economy.

So now some, including Dan Tsao, are looking inward in hopes of breathing fresh air into their own neighborhood.

Chinatown's first Hong Kong-style cafe, Ting'sTing's, is the brainchild of Dan Tsao. He took over the space from the previous owners at their request.

"The business had been struggling," he said. "They were only busy for a few months and then the pandemic hits."

That eatery never recovered but Tsao turned the location into a bustling restaurant, serving up comfort food with a creative twist. TingTing's Cafe is Tsao's second restaurant. His first is EMei, which regularly has lines out the door.

"EMei's volume has been a 350% increase in the past three or four years. EMei's employee size grew from 10 to 12 to about 40," said Tsao.

Tsao diversified his staff, focused on marketing, and modified his branding to draw new customers.

"I think the first business in Chinatown opened in 1870 as a laundromat," said Tsao.

He has a unique understanding of the community as the owner of two Asian language newspapers, including Metro Chinese Weekly, which he started 17 years ago.

Tsao was against building a Sixers' arena near Chinatown but said now that the controversial proposal is in the rearview mirror, he sees it had a silver lining, forcing Chinatown to come together to move forward.

"Try to look beyond the next 5 or 10 years. How is Chinatown going to evolve with the arena or without the arena? That's something rarely being discussed in the past," he said.

Tsao is hoping to build on Chinatown's historic strengths.

"Basically, Chinatown provides the ecosystem for a business able to start and grow," he said "For example, we have a bubble tea shop that opened 10 years ago, a single location. Right now, they have evolved into a hospitality group with 20 locations and different concepts."

Tsao said he has ideas for new businesses. "Chinatown needs to reinvent itself," he said. "For this year, I have another three to five concepts."

One idea is a vegetarian restaurant. Plus, Tsao is partnering with other existing business owners and acting as an informal consultant for new ones.

"We still own the power of exercising our creativities," he says.

If his first two restaurants are any indication, Tsao has figured out the recipe for success.

Tsao is also participating in a food-focused fundraiser to support Chinatown.

Ellen Yin will host it on Monday, February 3 at her restaurant High Street. It will feature six chefs from Chinatown as well as talks from activists looking to preserve the neighborhood.

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