Latest news with #PhoenixPalace
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chinatown businesses ‘taking it day by day' as Trump's tariff war threatens their livelihoods, communities
New York City's Chinatown is a vibrant tourist hub, with fresh food markets and celebrated restaurants packed in alongside souvenir shops. However, tariffs are threatening businesses in Chinatowns across the country. One of the establishments directly affected is Phoenix Palace, a local hotspot in New York City. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 5 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10) The owner, Cory Ng, told CBS News that his restaurant imports nearly every single ingredient from China — and he saw costs rise significantly in the wake of tariff policies. President Donald Trump originally announced plans to impose a 145% tariff on Chinese imports. Since then, the U.S. and China have agreed to a 90-day pause, with the U.S. reducing its tariff on Chinese imports to 30% and China dropping its tariff (on most goods) down to 10%. However, a permanent deal between the two countries has yet to be reached, and if tariffs end up rising substantially after the pause, a host of local businesses could end up having to close their doors. "I get it, a business is to make money, but it's not for us to have a collection of Rolexes. It's to take care of our family," said Ng, emphasizing the importance of these establishments. "Remember what my grandma and my mom had to do for us to get here. Yeah, and that's the point of it, to remember where we come from. It's a privilege." There are over 50 Chinatown neighborhoods across the U.S., with some of the most established ones in New York City, Boston, and San Francisco. However, in these neighborhoods, local businesses were struggling to cope with the tariffs. Before the rollback, Ng told CBS that some of his ingredients cost double to source. "We're not importing fresh ingredients like vegetables, but everything else around it — spices, seasonings, even our beers. Now it's double. Who's going to pay $20 for a beer? It's impacting us every time we put food on the table," he explained. Ng doesn't want to raise prices. Doing so could not only hurt customers, but drive them away. In Los Angeles's Chinatown neighborhood sits Yue Wa Market, a small herbal medicine and grocery shop. Owner Amy Tran raised the price of a herbal concoction when the new tariffs were imposed and said she may have to do the same for dozens of other imported products. But that's a problem for her customers, who are mostly Chinese seniors who rely on food stamps, The Guardian reports. 'I'm just taking it day by day,' she told the newspaper. Ng and business owners in a similar boat may be getting some temporary relief now that tariffs are temporarily paused. The Wall Street Journal reported that in the week beginning May 12, when the trade truce was announced, bookings for containers to the U.S. from China more than doubled compared with the week before due to pent-up demand. But while Ng and other business owners can try to stock up during the current cool-off period, that won't work for perishable goods. Read more: This is how American car dealers use the '4-square method' to make big profits off you — and how you can ensure you pay a fair price for all your vehicle costs In the wake of the recent tariff pause, the stock market stabilized after plunging in April. But if the U.S. and China can't reach a long-term agreement after the current 90-day pause ends in August, it could send markets spiraling once more. It could also force countless small Chinatown businesses to go under — especially those operating with already tight margins and coping with the 30% tariffs on Chinese goods. Restaurants certainly fit that bill. Restaurant365 says the average profit margin for full-service restaurants is only 3-5%. For fast casual restaurants, it's 6% to 9%. These margins don't give small restaurants much wiggle room to absorb the higher cost of sourcing goods that full-fledged tariffs could result in. 'Restaurants rely on China for many of their key inputs, including food ingredients, plastic packaging and utensils, and equipment,' warned the National Restaurant Association in a press release. Unfortunately, passing higher costs onto customers won't solve the problem. Chinatown businesses get much of their sales from neighborhood residents. But it's unlikely they can afford major price hikes. In 2022, the median household income in New York City's Chinatown/Lower East Side was $58,540, according to the Furman Center. This was about 25% less than citywide median household income ($77,550). The poverty rate was 26% compared to 18.3% citywide. Making matters worse is that some Chinatown businesses may still be recovering from the events of the pandemic. 'The tariffs add on to the current uncertainties that Chinatown business owners were already facing for several decades,' said author Laureen Hom to The Guardian. She mentioned 'suburban growth, gentrification pressures from downtown and neighboring areas, and the economic downturn and anti-Asian sentiment spurred by the pandemic.' Of course, it's possible that a reasonable agreement on tariffs will be reached between the U.S. and China. 'I don't think the American government wants to leave China,' said JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon in a May 22 Bloomberg interview. 'I hope they have a second round, third round or fourth round and hopefully it will end up in a good place.' People like Ng aren't ready to give up. "Chinatown is a resilient community,' he told CBS News. 'We've beaten so many things. We gotta continue on this path, this legacy, and never let that go in vain." Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan 'works every single time' to kill debt, get rich in America — and that 'anyone' can do it Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Robert Kiyosaki warns of a 'Greater Depression' coming to the US — with millions of Americans going poor. But he says these 2 'easy-money' assets will bring in 'great wealth'. How to get in now Here are 5 'must have' items that Americans (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you? This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chinatown businesses from coast to coast sound alarm over Trump's China tariff
[Source] President Donald Trump's tariff on Chinese imports continues to impact small businesses in Chinatowns across major cities, threatening their survival and the cultural fabric of communities that have persevered for generations. Catch up: Trump has slapped sweeping tariffs on all Chinese imports since 'Liberation Day' on April 2, with the latest levy at 145%. The effects have been palpable: in New York City's Chinatown, a 40-pound bag of rice that once cost $25 now sells for over $60, while restaurants in San Francisco's Chinatown report supply cost increases of up to 20%. For its part, Beijing responded with 125% retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, escalating tensions before this weekend's talks between U.S. and Chinese economic officials in Switzerland. Just two weeks after saying his China tariff would 'come down substantially,' Trump rejected the idea on Wednesday, telling reporters 'no.' Higher costs, fewer customers: Cory Ng, who owns Phoenix Palace in New York City, explained the Chinese tariff's impact to CBS News: 'The rice, the soy sauce, our entire menu is built off that! We're not importing fresh ingredients like vegetables, but everything else around it — spices, seasonings, even our beers. Now it's double.' Trending on NextShark: In Austin's Chinatown, shoppers report both panic buying and 'putting things back.' 'We've seen a significant surge of Asian companies keen to invest here due to the tariffs, and we've also heard from small local companies planning to shut down,' Mark Duval, president of the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce, told KXAN. In San Francisco, Lucas Li, whose family runs spirituality supply store Lion Trading, told KALW that they paused all imports 'because we wouldn't know how to make those profits come back.' Meanwhile, San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce President Donald Luu said restaurants are seeing about 20% less customers while merchants face 30% less sales since the tariff was enacted. Trending on NextShark: This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices. Subscribe free to join the movement. If you love what we're building, consider becoming a paid member — your support helps us grow our team, investigate impactful stories, and uplift our community. Subscribe here now! Trending on NextShark: Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!
CBS News
05-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
In NYC's Chinatown, a family-owned restaurant says tariffs are causing costs to rise dramatically
President Donald Trump's ongoing trade war with China is threatening Chinese restaurants in New York City's Chinatown. Restaurants like Phoenix Palace import nearly every ingredient they use from China and already operate with small profit margins. "The rice, the soy sauce, our entire menu is built off that! We're not importing fresh ingredients like vegetables, but everything else around it - spices, seasonings, even our beers. Now it's double. Who's going to pay $20 for a beer? It's impacting us every time we put food on the table," owner of Phoenix Palace Cory Ng said. Trump tariffs impacting Chinatown businesses The Trump administration slapped a 145% tariff on all Chinese imports, which has caused prices of goods to skyrocket. A 40-pound bag of rice used to go for $25, but now it has skyrocketed to $61. "It's a trade war. They're puffing their chests to see who can puff it for longer without backing down," Ng said. Ng explained that he's desperately trying to avoid passing the rising costs onto his customers. He hopes the White House will realize how much the tariffs impact everyday Americans trying to make a living. "Stuff that most people never had to think about becomes a big factor now all on top of the rise of living in general going up," Ng says. Restaurant owners are scrambling to plan, and some of Ng's suppliers have said they may be shutting down for a few months to stay afloat in the long term. "[The suppliers are] calling each other. They're asking the question, 'Hey, what are you going to do?' And no one has the right answer because it changes every day," Ng says. "Chinatown is a resilient community" Phoenix Palace draws from Ng's family history and he hopes that he can continue to invest in the community that made him who he is. "We're just a community restaurant. I get it, a business is to make money, but it's not for us to have a collection of Rolexes. It's to take care of our family," Ng continues. "Remember what my grandma and my mom had to do for us to get here. Yeah, and that's the point of it, to remember where we come from. It's a privilege." Ng says Chinatown will weather the storm of tariffs for the sake of the community and the people who came before him. "The older generation that did it for us, their jerseys are in the rafters. They're retired. It's on us as a generation to hold the torch, keep the flame going," Ng says. "Chinatown is a resilient community. We've beaten so many things. We gotta continue on this path, this legacy, and never let that go in vain."
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
These friends grew up in Manhattan's Chinatown. Now they're hoping their restaurant can help preserve it
Cory Ng, a 37-year-old restaurateur, is passionate about preserving and investing in Manhattan's Chinatown — the place he was born and raised. In 2022, he and his wife Kimberly Ho, along with executive chef Zhan Chen, as well as his childhood friends Justin Siu and Ricky Nguyen, opened Potluck Club, a millennial Cantonese American restaurant that serves shatteringly crisp salt-and-pepper fried chicken and bumps late-'90s, early-'00s tunes. 'We want to celebrate our culture, honor it, but do it in a new flavor, a new fashion, make it 'CrazySexyCool,'' Ng told Carson Daly on TODAY. 'It's a mix of both old and new.' Ng describes his restaurant's food as 'Cantonese American' because it's made by 'Cantonese kids growing up in New York.' Potluck Club stands on the site where Ng's family and grandfather had a business for over 40 years selling produce and Chinese sausage. 'We weren't born in Hong Kong, we were born here, so a lot of what we learned about our culture was through movies,' Ng said — and the restaurant's decor reflects that, with nods to the Hong Kong and Taiwanese films he and his friends grew up watching, including a mural dedicated to the 1994 slapstick kung-fu movie 'Shaolin Popey.' Meanwhile, the music pulsing through the restaurant's speakers reflects what he and his friends grew up listening to. 'We're playing kind of 'TRL's' greatest hits,' he told Carson. 'Juvenile's 'Back That Thang Up'?' Carson asked him, throwing it back to his VJ days. 'That's my favorite song of all time,' Ng responded. Ng describes Potluck Club as a 'cultural space more than a restaurant.' Its name comes from the fact that everything is served family-style — from the salt and pepper chicken with scallion biscuits to the jellyfish salad and the oyster mushroom rice roll noodles. It's also a nod to NYC's famous (and dwindling) banquet halls. And through this space — along with his most recent restaurant, Phoenix Palace, which opened in 2024 — he hopes to help his community continue to thrive in Chinatown, the place that raised him and his friends. 'If these condos and hotels see a future here in our neighborhood, why don't we see a future here?' he said. Chinatown's landscape has changed, like much of New York City, by real estate developments. Many of his millennial peers have chosen to leave the neighborhood, while gentrification has pushed out many small businesses and older residents. Chef Zhan sources the ingredients for the restaurant from local vendors, but they're all on the verge of retirement. 'Very, very few people who get a college degree come back and make noodles,' he told Carson. 'They are in all the corporate offices right now, but they do come back and support when they can.' Witnessing his neighborhood change is both a 'gift and a curse,' he said, as 'a lot of cultural spaces go away.' And it's critical to him to preserve his culture — something that's been instilled in him by his grandma and the seniors in the community. To give back to them, Ng and his team give out free meals and groceries to 250 neighborhood seniors once a month. 'We give them groceries, produce, fruit, and we give them hot meals,' he said, 'but [it's also] a space for them to hang out, meet their friends … some of them go on dates.' Through Potluck Club's partnership with local nonprofit More Than a Meal, local volunteers — including Carson — help pack and distribute the food to the community's seniors. As far as what's to come in the future, Ng said he plans to 'continue building our community, be unapologetically proud of who we are and staying here and doing what we need to maintain this.' This article was originally published on
