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Los Angeles Times
05-05-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Is this the best shopping center in the San Gabriel Valley?
The shopping centers of the San Gabriel Valley often act as points of reference that are more reliable than specific cross streets or even addresses. If someone mentions the strip mall with the Wushiland boba shop, the 99 Ranch Market and the dumpling restaurant with two names upstairs, for many, an image of the San Gabriel Square immediately comes to mind. I grew up in the shopping centers of the San Gabriel Valley, their bright lights and maze-like parking lots serving as the colorful backdrop of my Chinese American childhood. My mother once chased an unruly grocery cart that held me in its front basket as it rolled through the parking lot of the Victorian-looking strip mall at the corner of San Gabriel Boulevard and New Avenue. I remember racing my younger sister up and down the stairs of the Atlantic Place Shopping Center while we waited for a table at my grandmother's favorite dim sum restaurant. There were countless days spent as a child under the care of my uncle and grandmother, who brought us along to three, sometimes four strip malls in a day to find the various ingredients needed for that evening's dinner, beauty products, the Hello Kitty pencil box I desperately needed and egg tarts. It was the same story for countless Asian Americans growing up in the San Gabriel Valley, where 13 of the 14 Asian-majority suburbs in Los Angeles County are located. These strip malls were a way for residents to create a stronghold in their communities, with restaurants, markets and other businesses that catered to an Asian clientele. Each center tells its own story, a gleaming display of resilience that often functions as its own ecosystem. My current favorite, though, has to be the Hilton Plaza, a multistory strip mall adjacent to the Hilton Hotel on Valley Boulevard in San Gabriel. Built in 2003, the mall boasts a grand facade, with marble columns, a wooden trellis that lines the second and third floors of the complex and a fountain in three of the four corners of the center. The parking lot upstairs is a war zone I tend to avoid because of its sharp turns and car horns. Downstairs in the parking garage, the spaces are larger and the tempers milder. The Hilton Plaza is a one-stop destination for soup dumplings, congee, chicken burgers, tea, potato noodles, hot pot, roast fish, nightlife and an outpost of one of L.A.'s most celebrated ramen restaurants. If you're curious about the wave of chicken burger restaurants that have opened in the San Gabriel Valley over the last few years, Macho Burger is a good place to start. It's a chain with multiple locations in California, with a chicken-centric menu of chicken burgers, extra-large fried chicken cutlets, chicken wings, fried fish sandwiches and beef wraps that look a little like a Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme. Its red and yellow color scheme is reminiscent of the most recognizable American fast food chains, only the mascot is a cartoon character with buff arms and a sesame seed bun on top of its baseball cap. There is no ground chicken patty involved in the sandwich. Instead, a fried chicken thigh with a circumference consistently greater than its bun serves as the burger. The bun is a soft potato roll and the chicken has a thick, craggy crust heavily seasoned with black pepper. A few bites in and the chicken burger craze starts to make sense. It's difficult to find congee that competes with the stuff my grandma Tina makes. Never one to embrace modesty, she'll tell you this herself. But the porridge at Huo Zhou Wang may be in a category all its own. Each grain of rice remains intact, suspended in a rich, thick soup fragrant with ginger. You can order the porridge studded with dried scallops, prawns and clams. Or splurge on a bowl crowned with abalone. The sole fish fillet is a favorite, with the soft, silky nuggets of fish nestled into the rice. There is no shortage of deep-fried delights to dip into your porridge, with fried rolls like mini coconut-scented doughnuts and red bean-filled sesame balls. And don't overlook the complimentary side dishes, with a trio of roasted peanuts, kimchi and spicy, marinated radish that arrives mere seconds after you reach the table. The dish in front of every party is a raised platter of fish, its head and tail hanging over the sides, its body submerged in a bubbling liquid that sputters all over the table. Faces are momentarily obscured behind extravagantly scented walls of steam. The fish on my table is typically black cod, with one fillet trembling in a 'golden soup garlic,' and the other in 'Lius homestyle.' The golden soup is savory and pungent with an astonishing amount of garlic. The homestyle is rust red, not nearly as fierce as it appears, humming with the flavor of mellow toasted chiles. You scoop spoonfuls of the fish and sauce over white rice, careful to avoid the bones. And before the fish, there are skewers, with cumin-rubbed mutton and spiced quail eggs you may want to eat by the dozen. Some of the dumplings are made in a corner of the dining room, mere feet from the tables. It's mesmerizing to watch the chefs stretch and pinch the dough around nubs of ground pork, their movements fluid and constant. The dumpling wrappers are on the thicker side, so engorged with filling that it's possible to spy the soup and pork inside if you hold it up to the light. The restaurant is known for its salted egg yolk and pork dumplings, seemingly standard xiao long bao that, upon closer inspection, feature a sunshine yellow hue just below the wrapper. The pork filling is infused with the salty, buttery, almost cheesy flavor of salted egg, making them about five times more satiating than your average dumpling. Each order of noodle soup arrives in its own pot, its contents still roiling. The potato noodles that bob across the top are pale and round, almost too slippery to catch between your chopsticks. Depending on your order, the noodles may be tangled with ribbons of beef and bok choy alongside a handful of cilantro. There are knife-cut wheat noodles, and they are excellent. But you came for the potato noodles. It's in the name for a reason. The noodles themselves are unlike any other, with a singular texture that's at once chewy and bouncy, then seems to disappear on your tongue. There are fried mushroom skewers to round out the meal, and each order of soup or rice bowl comes with a free beverage. There is a perpetual wait at the Sawtelle locations, with no limit to how long people are willing to linger for a bowl of noodles. The San Gabriel restaurant is far quieter, and I've yet to wait more than a few minutes for a table, even during peak meal times. The tsukemen is the same, the noodles remarkably thick and chewy and the broth intense, milky and rich with maximal pork. The char siu splayed over the top of the noodles are luscious slabs of pork belly that melt. The soft egg contains a glob of orange goo in the middle. It is the Tsujita you know, love and are willing to wait for, without the crowd. This is a tea shop where the most popular drink on the menu is a concoction called the Tiramisu milk tea. It's a robust black tea mixed with milk and topped with something called tiramisu puff cream, a thick, sweet foam that floats atop the drink. Without a bakery in the plaza, this is the place to go for a brown sugar latte with boba after lunch, or for a cocoa drink with cheese foam and crushed Oreos after dinner. I don't know that I crave a single dish in Los Angeles more often than the stir-fried cabbage at Tang Dynasty. It's an odd dish to obsess over, but I find its simplicity ever alluring. The cabbage is wok-charred, its edges curled, caramelized, a little smoky and sweet. It's seasoned with just the right amount of what could be black vinegar, a slight tang permeating each wilted leaf. You can eat it alone or over rice, as the main attraction or as a side dish intended to offset the meat skewers that are likely to accumulate on the table. Tang Dynasty is a restaurant that feels like a peaceful respite during the day and a roaring party when the sun goes down, with dishes and elaborately presented beverages that are meant to be shared. You can order a kaleidoscope of shots, the glass containers filled with pink peach wine, osmanthus rice wine and whatever other flavored low A.B.V. alcohol your heart desires. The skewers range from garlic vermicelli scallops to Taiwanese sausage. And the salted egg yolk crab is a must order, with the fried crab enveloped in a buttery salted egg sauce you can suck from every crevice. Tucked into the northwest corner of the first floor of the plaza, this hot pot restaurant can be a little disorienting. Are the platters of sesame balls, watermelon and sugar-dusted sweet potato fries on display just inside the front door part of the experience? What are those refrigerators at the back of the restaurant for? Nice 2 Meet U is an all-you-can-eat hot pot restaurant that's part order-at-the-table and part serve-yourself. You choose one or two soup bases for your group, maybe the spicy beef tallow or the mushroom soup. They bubble side by side in a cauldron that sits atop the table. Then head to the refrigerators to grab plates of noodles and vegetables and wooden skewers of meat and seafood. You cook the various proteins and vegetables in the boiling soup and build your own dipping sauce at the condiment bar from a selection of soy, vinegar, sesame, chile, garlic and onions. The dishes on display near the front of the restaurant are included, and you can partake in as many bowls of cucumber salad as you wish. Diners are charged for the soup base and then for each skewer and plate from the refrigerator with prices that range depending on the color of the dishware. It's a stellar way to spend an evening with friends, plucking skewers of duck tongue and fish cakes from a steaming vat in the center of the table.
Korea Herald
10-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Trump tariffs worry US shoppers who buy groceries at Asian supermarkets
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Loyal customers of Asian supermarkets and other grocery stores that specialize in selling imported food heaved a collective sigh of dismay when President Donald Trump announced extra-high US tariffs on goods from dozens of countries. What would happen to prices at 99 Ranch Market and H Mart?, wondered Asian Americans and immigrants who shop at the two American chains for preferred brands like Japan's Kewpie mayonnaise and China's Pearl River light soy sauce. 'We're all going to be crying in H Mart,' a TikTok user commiserated, referencing the title of a bestselling memoir by Korean American musician Michelle Zauner as other posters shared videos of their 'pre-tariff hauls' from Asian supermarkets. The steeper tariff rates Trump set for imports from nations he accused of unfair trade practices took effect first thing Wednesday along with a 10 percent baseline tax on products from the rest of the world. Less than 14 hours later, the president paused the individually set tariffs for every country except China for 90 days. Several countries in Asia had some of the largest 'reciprocal' levies, including South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (47 percent) and Cambodia (49 percent). After China approved counter-tariffs and said it would fight a US trade war 'to the end,' Trump raised the rate on Chinese goods to 104 percent and then to 125 percent. At a 99 Ranch Market less than a mile from the UCLA campus, one of the California-based chain's 58 stores, regular shopper Artis Chitchamnueng said he won't be able to go anywhere else to find the foods he likes if prices skyrocket. 'I think (Trump's) just like playing a lot of like mind games of just trying to like take control of the market and stuff like that,' Chitchamnueng, a part-time worker and entrepreneur, said. Many customers have said on social media they don't know if they will be able to continue doing their routine grocery shopping at 99 Ranch Market. Even if mainstream grocers stock some of the same items, a lot of imported items are less expensive at the specialty supermarkets. An 18-ounce bottle of Lee Kum Kee Panda oyster sauce, for example, retails for $3.99 at 99 Ranch. The websites for Safeway and Walmart list the same bottle for $4.79 and $10.45, respectively. The stores stocking a wide range of noodles, dried vegetables, herbs and skin care products from China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam can be a source of comfort for immigrants and foreign students craving the tastes of home. Tony He, an international student at UCLA, said Trump's tariff policies confused him but he would continue shopping at 99 Ranch to get his groceries if prices increase. 'As long as I need Asian food, I usually come here,' He said. Shopping for culturally specific foods, drinks and condiments in the US has come a long way from the once-meager offerings found in the 'ethnic food' aisles of American supermarkets. International supermarkets and small grocery stores across the country generated $55.8 billion in revenue last year, according to market research firm IBISWorld. The sector has recorded an annual growth rate of roughly 3 percent since 2019, and an IBISWorld forecast predicted revenue for grocery stores with international brands would go up to over $64 billion by 2029. Analysts attribute the increase in demand to the growth of Asian and Hispanic immigrant populations, as well as to the tastes of younger consumers who enjoy experiencing new flavors. Mass market stores and brands increasingly have stocked or created Americanized versions of Asian products to ride the trend. The specialty rice used for sushi that mainstream supermarkets sell also is usually imported from South Korea, China or Japan, noted Nancy Qian, a professor of economics at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. She thinks tariffs may lead consumers to find alternatives for their favorite brands. 'When my parents first came to America in the '80s from China, they couldn't really get the same type of rice as they did in China, So they switched to a different type of rice,' Qian said. 'I think families and restaurants and people, they'll do what it takes to make ends meet. And they'll substitute foods. They'll buy new foods.' Independent shops that are integral to smaller Asian American communities also braced for a hit. The owner of Not Just Spices, a tiny South Asian grocery in Providence, Rhode Island, said he was concerned about rising costs for staple products such as basmati rice from India and Pakistan, or the smaller-grained Kalijira rice from his native Bangladesh. The import duties that kicked in before Trump announced the 90-day delay including a tariff of 37 percent on goods from Bangladesh, 26 percent on neighboring India's products, 29 percent on items from Pakistan and a whopping 44 percent on imports from the island country of Sri Lanka, known for its cinnamon and other spices. Mohammed Islam, who has run Not Just Spices since 1998, trusts his customers won't blame him if the tariffs affect supplies and he has to raise prices. 'People don't complain because it's already in the news,' Islam said. 'It's not like I'm the one who is raising the price.' Customers at Hispanic supermarkets also may be shopping more carefully. Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on most imports from Mexico. In Phoenix, roommates Andrew Colvin and Mario Aviles typically patronize Los Altos Ranch Market, where they say the bulk of the produce and snacks they buy are from Mexico. The sprawling supermarket, which includes a deli and a bakery, is one of the 115 stores the Heritage Grocers Group operates in six states. 'We expect pretty much everything to go up,' said Colvin, who was stocking up on Parrot canned coconut water, his favorite drink, in case the price goes up. 'I probably eat 14 avocados a week. There'll be a lot less of that.' Aviles doesn't want to shop elsewhere. If tariffs result in serious sticker shock, he is prepared to restrict himself instead. 'No more avocados, no more mangoes, no more orange,' Aviles said. Some experts say it wouldn't hurt to stock up on non-perishables within limits and individual household budgets. But shoppers need to avoid the 'panic buying' that accompanied the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which could create shortages and cause additional price increases, Qian said. While it's not yet clear how much of the tariffs will get passed onto US consumers, researchers say any price increases would disproportionately affect low-income households. 'These are regressive taxes. And for the elementary reason that affluent people do not spend 100 percent of their incomes and disadvantaged people do,' Steven Durlauf, director of the University of Chicago's Stone Center for Research on Wealth Inequality and Mobility. Northwestern University's Qian said the cumulative economic impacts of Trump administration tariffs may hold one possible silver lining if they bring people back to the cultural enclaves of major cities. 'If you think about the old Chinatowns, or the old, like, Little Italys of America,' she said. 'The reason that those places became really important for their communities was because that was the only place where you can get the thing you wanted.'
The Hill
09-04-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Asian supermarket customers brace for price hikes as Trump tariffs take effect
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Loyal customers of Asian supermarkets and other grocery stores that specialize in selling imported food heaved a collective sigh of dismay when President Donald Trump announced extra-high U.S. tariffs on goods from dozens of countries. What would happen to prices at 99 Ranch Market and H Mart?, wondered Asian Americans and immigrants who shop at the two American chains for preferred brands like Japan's Kewpie mayonnaise and China's Pearl River light soy sauce. 'We're all going to be crying in H Mart,' a TikTok user commiserated, referencing the title of a bestselling memoir by Korean American musician Michelle Zauner as other posters shared videos of their 'pre-tariff hauls' from Asian supermarkets. The steeper tariff rates Trump set for imports from nations he accused of unfair trade practices took effect first thing Wednesday along with a 10% baseline tax on products from the rest of the world. Less than 14 hours later, the president paused the individually set tariffs for every country except China for 90 days. Several countries in Asia had some of the largest 'reciprocal' levies, including South Korea (25%), Vietnam (47%) and Cambodia (49%). After China approved counter-tariffs and said it would fight a U.S. trade war 'to the end,' Trump raised the rate on Chinese goods to 104% and then to 125%. At a 99 Ranch Market less than a mile from the UCLA campus, one of the California-based chain's 58 stores, regular shopper Artis Chitchamnueng said he won't be able to go anywhere else to find the foods he likes if prices skyrocket. 'I think (Trump's) just like playing a lot of like mind games of just trying to like take control of the market and stuff like that,' Chitchamnueng, a part-time worker and entrepreneur, said. Many customers have said on social media they don't know if they will be able to continue doing their routine grocery shopping at 99 Ranch Market. Even if mainstream grocers stock some of the same items, a lot of imported items are less expensive at the specialty supermarkets. An 18-ounce bottle of Lee Kum Kee Panda oyster sauce, for example, retails for $3.99 at 99 Ranch. The websites for Safeway and Walmart list the same bottle for $4.79 and $10.45, respectively. The stores stocking a wide range of noodles, dried vegetables, herbs and skin care products from China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam can be a source of comfort for immigrants and foreign students craving the tastes of home. Tony He, an international student at UCLA, said Trump's tariff policies confused him but he would continue shopping at 99 Ranch to get his groceries if prices increase. 'As long as I need Asian food, I usually come here,' He said. Shopping for culturally specific foods, drinks and condiments in the U.S. has come a long way from the once-meager offerings found in the 'ethnic food' aisles of American supermarkets. International supermarkets and small grocery stores across the country generated $55.8 billion in revenue last year, according to market research firm IBISWorld. The sector has recorded an annual growth rate of roughly 3% since 2019, and an IBISWorld forecast predicted revenue for grocery stores with international brands would go up to over $64 billion by 2029. Analysts attribute the increase in demand to the growth of Asian and Hispanic immigrant populations, as well as to the tastes of younger consumers who enjoy experiencing new flavors. Mass market stores and brands increasingly have stocked or created Americanized versions of Asian products to ride the trend. The specialty rice used for sushi that mainstream supermarkets sell also is usually imported from South Korea, China or Japan, noted Nancy Qian, a professor of economics at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. She thinks tariffs may lead consumers to find alternatives for their favorite brands. 'When my parents first came to America in the '80s from China, they couldn't really get the same type of rice as they did in China, So they switched to a different type of rice,' Qian said. 'I think families and restaurants and people, they'll do what it takes to make ends meet. And they'll substitute foods. They'll buy new foods.' Independent shops that are integral to smaller Asian American communities also braced for a hit. The owner of Not Just Spices, a tiny South Asian grocery in Providence, Rhode Island, said he was concerned about rising costs for staple products such as basmati rice from India and Pakistan, or the smaller-grained Kalijira rice from his native Bangladesh. The import duties that kicked in before Trump announced the 90-day delay including a tariff of 37% on goods from Bangladesh, 26% on neighboring India's products, 29% on items from Pakistan and a whopping 44% on imports from the island country of Sri Lanka, known for its cinnamon and other spices. Mohammed Islam, who has run Not Just Spices since 1998, trusts his customers won't blame him if the tariffs affect supplies and he has to raise prices. 'People don't complain because it's already in the news,' Islam said. 'It's not like I'm the one who is raising the price.' Customers at Hispanic supermarkets also may be shopping more carefully. Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose a 25% tariff on most imports from Mexico. In Phoenix, roommates Andrew Colvin and Mario Aviles typically patronize Los Altos Ranch Market, where they say the bulk of the produce and snacks they buy are from Mexico. The sprawling supermarket, which includes a deli and a bakery, is one of the 115 stores the Heritage Grocers Group operates in six states. 'We expect pretty much everything to go up,' said Colvin, who was stocking up on Parrot canned coconut water, his favorite drink, in case the price goes up. 'I probably eat 14 avocados a week. There'll be a lot less of that.' Aviles doesn't want to shop elsewhere. If tariffs result in serious sticker shock, he is prepared to restrict himself instead. 'No more avocados, no more mangoes, no more orange,' Aviles said. Some experts say it wouldn't hurt to stock up on non-perishables within limits and individual household budgets. But shoppers need to avoid the 'panic buying' that accompanied the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which could create shortages and cause additional price increases, Qian said. While it's not yet clear how much of the tariffs will get passed onto U.S. consumers, researchers say any price increases would disproportionately affect low-income households. 'These are regressive taxes. And for the elementary reason that affluent people do not spend 100% of their incomes and disadvantaged people do,' Steven Durlauf, director of the University of Chicago's Stone Center for Research on Wealth Inequality and Mobility. Northwestern University's Qian said the cumulative economic impacts of Trump administration tariffs may hold one possible silver lining if they bring people back to the cultural enclaves of major cities. 'If you think about the old Chinatowns, or the old, like, Little Italys of America,' she said. 'The reason that those places became really important for their communities was because that was the only place where you can get the thing you wanted.' ___ Tang reported from Phoenix. Associated Press video producer Akira Kumamoto in Los Angeles, California contributed to this report. Associated Press writer Matt O'Brien in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.
Boston Globe
09-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Asian supermarket customers brace for price hikes as Trump tariffs take effect
The steeper tariff rates Trump set for imports from nations he accused of unfair trade practices took effect first thing Wednesday along with a 10% baseline tax on products from the rest of the world. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Several countries in Asia have some of the largest levies, including South Korea (25%), Vietnam (47%) and Cambodia (49%). After China approved counter-tariffs and said it would fight a U.S. trade war 'to the end,' the president on Tuesday raised the rate on Chinese goods to 104%. Advertisement At a 99 Ranch Market less than a mile from the UCLA campus, one of the California-based chain's 58 stores, regular shopper Artis Chitchamnueng said he won't be able to go anywhere else to find the foods he likes if prices skyrocket. 'I think (Trump's) just like playing a lot of like mind games of just trying to like take control of the market and stuff like that,' Chitchamnueng, a part-time worker and entrepreneur, said. Many customers have said on social media they don't know if they will be able to continue doing their routine grocery shopping at 99 Ranch Market. Advertisement Even if mainstream grocers stock some of the same items, a lot of imported items are less expensive at the specialty supermarkets. An 18-ounce bottle of Lee Kum Kee Panda oyster sauce, for example, retails for $3.99 at 99 Ranch. The websites for Safeway and Walmart list the same bottle for $4.79 and $10.45, respectively. The stores stocking a wide range of noodles, dried vegetables, herbs and skin care products from China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam can be a source of comfort for immigrants and foreign students craving the tastes of home. Tony He, an international student at UCLA, said Trump's tariff policies confused him but he would continue shopping at 99 Ranch to get his groceries if prices increase. 'As long as I need Asian food, I usually come here,' He said. Shopping for culturally specific foods, drinks and condiments in the U.S. has come a long way from the once-meager offerings found in the 'ethnic food' aisles of American supermarkets. International supermarkets and small grocery stores across the country generated $55.8 billion in revenue last year, according to market research firm IBISWorld. The sector has recorded an annual growth rate of roughly 3% since 2019, and an IBISWorld forecast predicted revenue for grocery stores with international brands would go up to over $64 billion by 2029. Analysts attribute the increase in demand to the growth of Asian and Hispanic immigrant populations, as well as to the tastes of younger consumers who enjoy experiencing new flavors. Mass market stores and brands increasingly have stocked or created Americanized versions of Asian products to ride the trend. Advertisement The specialty rice used for sushi that mainstream supermarkets sell also is usually imported from South Korea, China or Japan, noted Nancy Qian, a professor of economics at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. She thinks tariffs may lead consumers to find alternatives for their favorite brands. 'When my parents first came to America in the '80s from China, they couldn't really get the same type of rice as they did in China, So they switched to a different type of rice,' Qian said. 'I think families and restaurants and people, they'll do what it takes to make ends meet. And they'll substitute foods. They'll buy new foods.' Independent shops that are integral to smaller Asian American communities are also bracing for a hit. The owner of Not Just Spices, a tiny South Asian grocery in Providence, Rhode Island, said he was concerned about costs rising costs for everyday products such as basmati rice sourced from India and Pakistan, or the smaller-grained Kalijira rice from his native Bangladesh. 'When things are cheaper, people usually buy extra. Now they buy exactly what they need,' said Mohammed Islam, who has run Not Just Spices since 1998. 'People are scared of spending any money because they don't know what's going to be happening.' Trump announced a tariff of 37% on goods from Bangladesh, 26% on neighboring India's products, 29% on items from Pakistan and a whopping 44% on imports from the island country of Sri Lanka, known for its cinnamon and other spices. If he does have to raise prices as the tariff's impacts start to hit supplies, Islam trusts his customers won't blame him. Advertisement 'People don't complain because it's already in the news,' he said. 'It's not like I'm the one who is raising the price.' Customers at Hispanic supermarkets also may be shopping more carefully. Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose a 25% tariff on most imports from Mexico. In Phoenix, roommates Andrew Colvin and Mario Aviles typically patronize Los Altos Ranch Market, where they say the bulk of the produce and snacks they buy are from Mexico. The sprawling supermarket, which includes a deli and a bakery, is one of the 115 stores the Heritage Grocers Group operates in six states. 'We expect pretty much everything to go up,' said Colvin, who was stocking up on Parrot canned coconut water, his favorite drink, in case the price goes up. 'I probably eat 14 avocados a week. There'll be a lot less of that.' Aviles doesn't want to shop elsewhere. If tariffs result in serious sticker shock, he is prepared to restrict himself instead. 'No more avocados, no more mangoes, no more orange,' Aviles said. Some experts say it wouldn't hurt to stock up on non-perishables within limits and individual household budgets. But shoppers need to avoid the 'panic buying' that accompanied the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which could create shortages and cause additional price increases, Qian said. While it's not yet clear how much of the tariffs will get passed onto U.S. consumers, researchers say any price increases would disproportionately affect low-income households. 'These are regressive taxes. And for the elementary reason that affluent people do not spend 100% of their incomes and disadvantaged people do,' Steven Durlauf, director of the University of Chicago's Stone Center for Research on Wealth Inequality and Mobility. Advertisement Northwestern University's Qian said the cumulative economic impacts of Trump administration tariffs may hold one possible silver lining if they bring people back to the cultural enclaves of major cities. 'If you think about the old Chinatowns, or the old, like, Little Italys of America,' she said. 'The reason that those places became really important for their communities was because that was the only place where you can get the thing you wanted.' Tang reported from Phoenix. Associated Press video producer Akira Kumamoto in Los Angeles, California contributed to this report. Associated Press writer Matt O'Brien in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.
Chicago Tribune
09-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Asian supermarket customers brace for price hikes as President Donald Trump tariffs take effect
LOS ANGELES — Loyal customers of Asian supermarkets and other grocery stores that specialize in selling imported food heaved a collective sigh of dismay when President Donald Trump announced extra-high U.S. tariffs on goods from dozens of countries. What would happen to prices at 99 Ranch Market and H Mart?, wondered Asian Americans and immigrants who shop at the two American chains for preferred brands like Japan's Kewpie mayonnaise and China's Pearl River light soy sauce. 'We're all going to be crying in H Mart,' a TikTok user commiserated, referencing the title of a bestselling memoir by Korean American musician Michelle Zauner as other posters shared videos of their 'pre-tariff hauls' from Asian supermarkets. President Donald Trump's latest round of tariffs are poised to go into effect. Here's what we know. The steeper tariff rates Trump set for imports from nations he accused of unfair trade practices took effect first thing Wednesday along with a 10% baseline tax on products from the rest of the world. Several countries in Asia have some of the largest levies, including South Korea (25%), Vietnam (47%) and Cambodia (49%). After China approved counter-tariffs and said it would fight a U.S. trade war 'to the end,' the president on Tuesday raised the rate on Chinese goods to 104%. At a 99 Ranch Market less than a mile from the UCLA campus, one of the California-based chain's 58 stores, regular shopper Artis Chitchamnueng said he won't be able to go anywhere else to find the foods he likes if prices skyrocket. 'I think (Trump's) just like playing a lot of like mind games of just trying to like take control of the market and stuff like that,' Chitchamnueng, a part-time worker and entrepreneur, said. Many customers have said on social media they don't know if they will be able to continue doing their routine grocery shopping at 99 Ranch Market. Even if mainstream grocers stock some of the same items, a lot of imported items are less expensive at the specialty supermarkets. An 18-ounce bottle of Lee Kum Kee Panda oyster sauce, for example, retails for $3.99 at 99 Ranch. The websites for Safeway and Walmart list the same bottle for $4.79 and $10.45, respectively. The stores stocking a wide range of noodles, dried vegetables, herbs and skin care products from China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam can be a source of comfort for immigrants and foreign students craving the tastes of home. Tony He, an international student at UCLA, said Trump's tariff policies confused him but he would continue shopping at 99 Ranch to get his groceries if prices increase. 'As long as I need Asian food, I usually come here,' He said. Shopping for culturally specific foods, drinks and condiments in the U.S. has come a long way from the once-meager offerings found in the 'ethnic food' aisles of American supermarkets. International supermarkets and small grocery stores across the country generated $55.8 billion in revenue last year, according to market research firm IBISWorld. The sector has recorded an annual growth rate of roughly 3% since 2019, and an IBISWorld forecast predicted revenue for grocery stores with international brands would go up to over $64 billion by 2029. Analysts attribute the increase in demand to the growth of Asian and Hispanic immigrant populations, as well as to the tastes of younger consumers who enjoy experiencing new flavors. Mass market stores and brands increasingly have stocked or created Americanized versions of Asian products to ride the trend. The specialty rice used for sushi that mainstream supermarkets sell also is usually imported from South Korea, China or Japan, noted Nancy Qian, a professor of economics at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. She thinks tariffs may lead consumers to find alternatives for their favorite brands. 'When my parents first came to America in the '80s from China, they couldn't really get the same type of rice as they did in China, So they switched to a different type of rice,' Qian said. 'I think families and restaurants and people, they'll do what it takes to make ends meet. And they'll substitute foods. They'll buy new foods.' Independent shops that are integral to smaller Asian American communities are also bracing for a hit. The owner of Not Just Spices, a tiny South Asian grocery in Providence, Rhode Island, said he was concerned about costs rising costs for everyday products such as basmati rice sourced from India and Pakistan, or the smaller-grained Kalijira rice from his native Bangladesh. 'When things are cheaper, people usually buy extra. Now they buy exactly what they need,' said Mohammed Islam, who has run Not Just Spices since 1998. 'People are scared of spending any money because they don't know what's going to be happening.' Trump announced a tariff of 37% on goods from Bangladesh, 26% on neighboring India's products, 29% on items from Pakistan and a whopping 44% on imports from the island country of Sri Lanka, known for its cinnamon and other spices. If he does have to raise prices as the tariff's impacts start to hit supplies, Islam trusts his customers won't blame him. 'People don't complain because it's already in the news,' he said. 'It's not like I'm the one who is raising the price.' Customers at Hispanic supermarkets also may be shopping more carefully. Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose a 25% tariff on most imports from Mexico. In Phoenix, roommates Andrew Colvin and Mario Aviles typically patronize Los Altos Ranch Market, where they say the bulk of the produce and snacks they buy are from Mexico. The sprawling supermarket, which includes a deli and a bakery, is one of the 115 stores the Heritage Grocers Group operates in six states. 'We expect pretty much everything to go up,' said Colvin, who was stocking up on Parrot canned coconut water, his favorite drink, in case the price goes up. 'I probably eat 14 avocados a week. There'll be a lot less of that.' Aviles doesn't want to shop elsewhere. If tariffs result in serious sticker shock, he is prepared to restrict himself instead. 'No more avocados, no more mangoes, no more orange,' Aviles said. Some experts say it wouldn't hurt to stock up on non-perishables within limits and individual household budgets. But shoppers need to avoid the 'panic buying' that accompanied the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which could create shortages and cause additional price increases, Qian said. While it's not yet clear how much of the tariffs will get passed onto U.S. consumers, researchers say any price increases would disproportionately affect low-income households. 'These are regressive taxes. And for the elementary reason that affluent people do not spend 100% of their incomes and disadvantaged people do,' Steven Durlauf, director of the University of Chicago's Stone Center for Research on Wealth Inequality and Mobility. Northwestern University's Qian said the cumulative economic impacts of Trump administration tariffs may hold one possible silver lining if they bring people back to the cultural enclaves of major cities. 'If you think about the old Chinatowns, or the old, like, Little Italys of America,' she said. 'The reason that those places became really important for their communities was because that was the only place where you can get the thing you wanted.'
