Fear of the Coronavirus Closed My Restaurant. Manhattan’s Chinatown Community Will Help It Reopen.
Chinatown has been resilient and survived many disasters and gentrification in the city's history, says Aux Epices owner Mei Chau.
After closing her restaurant due to the coronavirus, “keeping Aux Epices alive during this time” remains owner Mei Chau’s full-time job. Photo by Alexandria Misch for Canal Street News
AS TOLD BY MEI CHAU
Closing Aux Epices was a difficult decision. We have always had a thriving takeout business and considered staying open for this, but all of my workers have to ride the subway to come to work, and it just seemed too dangerous for them to commute by train for fear of getting the virus.
For a while, I also feared for their safety with the rise of xenophobia. Right now, all our workers are safe and well, like so many who are staying at home, we are doing our crucial part to limit the spread of COVID-19.
We are a unique restaurant, known for our homestyle Malaysian-French food which reflects our diverse cultural background. Our mission has always been to serve homemade, healthy food that creates a sense of community, and we look forward to continuing that goal when we can reopen.
Aux Epices has been in Manhattan’s Chinatown since 2013 and we have customers who have been with us since our first restaurant, Franklin Station Cafe, that began in 1993 and lasted until 2008 in Tribeca. I can also proudly say that I have workers still with me from the prior restaurant. My staff is made up of home cooks who are housewives and immigrants. They are like family to me.
Even though I live on Broadway and Walker streets in lower Manhattan, I have only shopped one or twice in Chinatown since the shutdown. Everything is deserted. Almost all the shops are closed and only a few food markets are open. I miss the bubbling of the city and the outdoor vendors with all their fresh fruits. Even though they are considered “essential businesses,” the small family vendors can’t afford to stay open now because their profit margins are so low. Chinatown has always been a transit hub for people who work in Manhattan. The people who used to travel through Chinatown on their way to work in Manhattan would shop in Chinatown before returning home. Now that they are gone, the vendors can’t afford to stay open.
Keeping Aux Epices alive during this time has been challenging. I am busy these days working on ways to support the restaurant and my staff. This is not a relaxing time for me—working on grants and loans has become my priority—and the complex process and document requirements take most of my time. I’ve learned to update my website and add new merchandise, and I am also testing new recipes and doing creative brainstorming like thinking about adding cooking videos to our website or posting them on Instagram. I also have to stay in communication with my lawyer and landlord as weeks turn to months as our business remains closed.
To support my staff financially, I created a Go Fund Me campaign to help them through the shutdown. They are in the process of applying for unemployment but until that starts coming in they really need the help. I also created other ways to support the staff and restaurant—such as purchasing gift cards, T-shirts or a beautiful photo print by my husband, Marc Kaczmarek, who is a professional photographer. I am also planning to sell our homemade sauces and other merchandise on the website to help support my workers.
Rent is the biggest issue for my restaurant. I closed on March 18 and have made virtually no income since then. It would be ideal if the government could put a program in place that specifically deals with rent. (If you’re reading this, you can help by calling your state and federal representatives and senators to ask them to work out a solution for the continuously accruing rent.)
I’m hopeful, but I know it will be a challenge in getting Aux Epices back on its feet right away. Opening up for business in general will be slow, and cautious steps have to be implemented. The city and the world economy are interweaving. It takes a village, and, in this case, we need the whole world working together to ignite our life going back to normalcy.
There are many things that we can learn from this pandemic, as we’ve met many unsuspected heroes and watched kind spirits spring up everywhere to help communities and those who are in need. It is encouraging and wonderful in a very unusual way.
Chinatown has been resilient and survived many disasters and gentrification in the city's history. I’m sure it will continue its tradition to put up a good fight and retain its uniqueness at the crossroads of many cultures.
You can support Aux Epices by shopping its online store or donating to the staff Go Fund Me. There is no planned reopening date for the restaurant at this time.
Aux Epices Restaurant
121 Baxter St. New York, NY 10013
212-274-8585
