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The Star
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Restaurants are hard enough to run – try doing it with your mother
Jennifer Lu stands quietly behind a wooden counter modestly adorned with a golden bucket of candy and red flags celebrating the Year of the Snake, which also happens to be the name of her daughter Patty Lu's pastry pop-up. On that particular day, Patty stands zenlike and laser-focused, flipping pastries with chopsticks in the fryer in the cavernous commercial kitchen they operate out of in Berkeley, California. But Jennifer admits later in a phone call that they have sometimes fought in front of customers – loudly. When Patty started her pop-up in the East Bay in San Francisco, California, three years ago, she recalls being in the weeds and behind on orders, when her mother appeared in line with her friends to buy pastries. She immediately jumped in to help. 'She's shown up every weekend since and just hasn't left,' says Patty, whose mother continues to drive two hours each week to help out. Uncomfortable truths can surface Parents have become more involved in their adult children's lives in the United States, and most report that it's had positive effects. According to a Pew Research Center survey, nearly 41% of parents reported that their young adult child relies on them for a strong amount of emotional support, with mothers identifying as the source of emotional support more frequently than fathers. The feelings are mutual, and many adult children describe their relationships with their parents as healthy and fulfilling. Still, even the healthiest mother-child dyad lacks immunity against the stress of running a food business together. That particular insidious pressure is commonly known: The restaurant industry is identified as having one of the highest failure rates among businesses in the United States. Running a business together can reveal fissures in mother- child relationships that were previously (and likely to have remained) dormant. Steve Lee, a professor at University of California, Los Angeles' Department of Psychology, makes the analogy of a ship being steered capably for long passages of time, assuming its course, without knowing the issues that lie below. Environ-mental stressors can reveal the uncomfortable truths hiding underneath the surface all along. 'When you go from implicit to more explicit, there's sometimes a reaction,' Prof Lee says. 'It can get bumpy.' Julie with her grandson Mikko at her home. Julie has stepped back from the kitchen of the restaurant she opened with her son and is focusing on life outside of the restaurant. 'Arguing and arguing' The strains that occur are not necessarily confined within the restaurant walls. Life continues outside work, and lines between family issues and the restaurant can become blurred. In September 2018, Keegan Fong signed the lease to his restaurant, Woon, in Los Angeles. Two weeks later, his mother, Julie Chen Fong, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Neither had experience cooking in professional kitchens nor running a restaurant. The menu reflected Keegan's experience as a Chinese American growing up on his mother's Shanghai-style cooking. The interpretation of that intersection turned out to be delicate, since the restaurant utilises Julie's recipes. 'It's a fine line that I walk because this restaurant is an ode to her,' Keegan says. 'But at the same time, how do I not make it 100% about her and not make it 100% about me?' In the weeks leading up to the restaurant's opening, Julie would drive 40 minutes to Woon after her radiation treatment in the mornings to taste-test the dishes and train the newly hired staff. Both mother and son recall incessant arguing at the beginning. 'It hurt at first – arguing and arguing,' Julie says. Tensions continued to peak as the restaurant navigated the Covid-19 pandemic a year later. With the additional stress, Keegan remembers, at their lowest, his mother angrily threatening to sue him. Since then, both have learned to give each other space. Keegan became better at establishing boundaries, while Julie has stepped back from the restaurant's kitchen and is more focused on life outside the business, watching her grandchildren. Keegan, at his restaurant Woon in Los Angeles' historic Filipinotown, recalls his mother once angrily threatening to sue him during a low point in their business relationship. Since then, they have learned to give each other space. 'We'll figure it out' Despite tensions in the workplace, contrasting personalities and business styles can be a mother-child superpower. 'We are total opposites. Working with family is not for everyone,' says Nur-E Farhana Rahman, who works with her mother, Nur-E Gulshan Rahman, at Korai Kitchen in Jersey City, New Jersey. Farhana considers herself conservative when it comes to making business decisions. Her mother tends to take bigger risks. 'If it had been just me, this restaurant would have never opened because we had no restaurant experience, no capital and no investors,' Farhana says. Her mother simply told her daughter: We'll figure it out. And they did. More than seven years later, Farhana continues to handle the business operations while Gulshan cooks. Farhana says their disagreements and paradoxical business personalities often result in something fruitful. Learning to trust In 2023, Ana Torrealba took over as chef de cuisine at her mother Iliana de la Vega's long-standing Austin, Texas, restaurant, El Naranjo. Getting older, de la Vega was happy to pass the baton to one of her children. But trust can take time to build, especially when traditions are at stake. De la Vega had confidence in her daughter's palate, though more complex dishes like the restaurant's mole required training, she says. Although de la Vega acknowledges her daughter's strengths as a chef, they still sometimes disagreed when Torrealba wanted to modernise parts of the menu. Eventually, de la Vega realised that most of the changes her daughter implemented appealed to a new, younger clientele. 'I just got used to it,' says de le Vega about trusting that her daughter's choices preserved the cooking methods, flavours, and legacy of the restaurant. Torrealba (right) and her mother, de la Vega, at El Naranjo. In 2023, Torrealba took over as chef de cuisine at her mother's longstanding restaurant. The two tigers In 2018, Jessica Wang invited her mother to join her selling pastries at pop-ups and teaching cooking classes after doing so on her own for three years. Wang realised there was a need for a grocery store in Chinatown in Los Angeles when her students would ask where to buy ingredients. While the construction of the grocery store is underway, the duo continues to sell pastries and prepared foods at pop-ups and offer cooking classes and catering. Before the brick-and-mortar store opening, Wang has deeply considered their relationship as boss and employee versus co-owners, and how they should move forward. 'There were some hard moments where I think the dynamic of her being my mum and knowing what's best for me, and then being the owner and boss of the business has sometimes led to some kind of tensions,' Wang says. 'I just shut up and try to listen,' Peggy Wang says about their flipped dynamic. Peggy says she's learned to think outside the box working with her daughter, and from spending more time listening than intervening. 'Most things get worse when we respond right away because most of the time that's the ugly side talking.' Jennifer Lu found a metaphor for the relationship. 'In the mountain, you cannot have two tigers because they're both leaders,' she says, referring to a Chinese proverb. 'As a mum, I will back you up and let you be the boss.' – By ELEANORE PARK/©2025 The New York Times Company
Calgary Herald
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
How has year of the snake treated you? Updated horoscopes for the last half of 2025
The halfway mark of 2025 approaches. In this, the Year of the Snake, has luck been shining down upon you, or have clouds of gloom been darkening your days? For many people, it's been a bit of both. Article content Article content Some horoscope specialists liken the year to a game of Snakes and Ladders. Some days land you in a place that propels your fortunes upwards. On other days, you're stopped on a slithering path that takes you a few steps back. Article content Article content General predictions for the year certainly noted there were good days ahead for many in 2025, especially for people seeking transformation, wisdom, creativity and calmness. But the underbelly of the year of the snake reveals hidden problems for 2025, including increased stress and conflict. Article content Article content Singer Beyonce, for example, was born in a year of the rooster. Horoscope predictions for roosters note that people born in these years understand the importance of hard work and that their hard work would pay off in 2025. Beyonce, of course, is known for a strong work ethic, along with her talent. She'd been nominated five times for the Grammy award for album of the year, but it was 2025 when she finally took home this top prize. Article content Article content Article content For those born in years of the pig, such as Elon Musk, horoscope predictions indicated ample rewards could be coming their way. That certainly seemed to be the case at the start of the year when U.S. president Donald Trump appointed Musk a senior advisor. However, those rewards also came with a warning: Be careful of anything that seems too good to be true. Article content People born in a year of snake were predicted to have the ability in 2025 to turn around any bad luck that came their way. Case in point? Golfer Rory McIlroy had gone 10 years without winning a major tournament, but earlier this year he captured the 2025 Masters Tournament for the first time and finally completed his long-sought-after grand slam (a win in each of golf's four major championships.) Article content One more example of this year's predictions coming to fruition may be seen with Steven Spielberg, who was born in a year of the dog. These folks are described as loyal, loving and smart and it was predicted that dogs would receive great praise in 2025 for years of excellent work. For Spielberg, film fans and critics alike are heaping new praise on Spielberg for one of his early successes — Jaws. The movie is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and the entertainment world is abuzz thanks to a special release of the movie, a prestigious exhibit and anniversary celebrations in locations across North America.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Arcade Fire Keep Moving Forward Together
Over the years, few bands have been able to do quotidian grandeur as well as Arcade Fire. A relatability factor propels even their feistiest odes, from 2007's incantatory 'No Cars Go' to 2013's resplendent 'Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice),' and that quality has helped them manage the art-commerce quandary about as well as anyone this side of Radiohead. Can a restive dirge (2004's erratic fist-raiser 'Wake Up') sell a Spike Jonze movie about a wolf-suited lad to shit-tons of Super Bowl viewers? Why, yes, say these earnest Canadians, who proved their heart was in the right place by distributing the loot they got from that payday to Haitian earthquake victims. Recently, though, that sense of relatability has taken a serious hit. The band's last album, 2022's We, which reached Number Six on the Billboard 200 chart, got them on SNL, where frontman Win Butler mentioned 'a woman's right to choose' months before multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct. Their new freebie offering, 'Cars and Telephones,' which the group shared on its Circle of Friends app in April, is the first 'new' material from Arcade Fire since those squirmy accusations. While 'Cars and Telephones' isn't even on their new album, Pink Elephant (the song is a decades-old demo, repurposed for the social media age), it's a conspicuous harbinger, giving the impression of a tenacious band looking to recenter itself around core principles. On Pink Elephant's lead single, 'Year of the Snake,' Butler and wife/co-leader Régine Chassagne — twee and homey on the tight chorus — sing about a 'season of change.' The album itself offers quaint harmonies and big beats, á la We, set atop the bossy stomp of 2013's Reflektor. While Pink Elephant's 10 songs don't come close to Reflektor's magisterial range, it's often sweet, enticing, and direct — a cathartic manifesto in miniature. More from Rolling Stone Bad Bunny to Close Out 'SNL' Season 50 as Musical Guest Willie Nelson's 2025 Luck Reunion Was Like No Place on Earth Lord Huron, Arcade Fire, Counting Crows Among Headliners for High Water Fest 'So do what is true/Don't do what you should,' quivers Butler on 'Year of the Snake.' His cow-town warble settles into something like a bark over Jeremy Gara's raucous drums, giving the Texas-born singer's ideas about maturing amicably the heft of an edict. Co-producer Daniel Lanois' close-knit sound lends the record an intimate atmosphere — leaner and more quietly urgent than other Arcade Fire LPs. That soft-focus oomph imbues Chassagne's rejoinder, 'It's the time of the season/When you think about leaving,' with a serene sense of selflessness. Similarly trained on matters of the heart, the title cut is brutal and haunting, expressing a sincere 'alone together' ambiance: 'You're always nervous with the real thing/Mind is changing like a mood ring,' Butler groans in a line could serve as a thesis statement for the LP. 'Circle of Trust,' with its penetrating Euro-bounce, paints a calm picture of a couple dancing the night away while 'the archangel Michael' watches from afar with intentions to 'die for your love/Write your name in the fire in the sky for your love.' The pulsing bass line and modish Pet Shop Boys intonation — enriched by Chassagne's pert coo — make this Arcade Fire's most hypnotic dance ditty since 2017's slept-on 'Electric Blue.' Not every musical turn is successful. Despite its propulsive sonics (think Nine Inch Nails meets the Bomb Squad), the industrial missive, 'Alien Nation,' is a letdown, tortured by lyrics that come off at once vague and dogmatic (something about laser beams and weird vibrations). Ditto for 'Stuck in My Head,' whose heart-thrashing chords are all but vitiated by a sad-sack, repetitive refrain that fails to embellish the grief Butler sings about. But the gorgeous 'Ride or Die' registers more than enough emotive force, with pastoral guitars recalling early AF classics like 'Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles).' It makes way for the moving 'I Love Her Shadow,' where Butler, over insatiable percussion, proclaims his love for someone who 'broke me with the hammer.' Mapping regrets and linking desires, Pink Elephant is a striking image of togetherness.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Arcade Fire Performs New Songs ‘Pink Elephant' and ‘Year of the Snake' on ‘SNL': Watch
Arcade Fire returned to Saturday Night Live on May 10 to perform new songs from their upcoming album. The Canadian quintet — led by frontman Win Butler and his wife, Régine Chassagne — took the stage at Studio 8H ahead of their forthcoming seventh studio album, Pink Elephant. More from Billboard Arcade Fire Announces New Album 'Pink Elephant' & Shares Lead Single 'Year of the Snake': Listen Miley Cyrus Addresses Family Feud Rumors: 'Family Is My Priority Above All Else' Harry Styles Makes Appearance at Pope Leo XIV's Unveiling at Vatican Arcade Fire opened their set with the album's title track and closed with the new single 'Year of the Snake.' Pink Elephant will mark the band's first album since 2022's We, which reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and climbed to the summit of the Top Rock Albums chart. The forthcoming 10-track album was recorded at Butler and Chassagne's Good News Recording Studio in New Orleans and is set for release this spring through Columbia Records. Described as a 'cinematic, mystical punk' effort, the album promises a sonic odyssey exploring themes of light and darkness, inner beauty, and the 'perception of the individual.' The release also marks Arcade Fire's first since multiple former fans accused Butler of sexual misconduct in 2022. The frontman denied that any of the encounters were nonconsensual, but issued an apology 'to anyone who I have hurt with my behavior.' The SNL appearance was the band's first major television performance since the allegations came to light. Saturday's episode marked Arcade Fire's sixth appearance on the long-running NBC sketch comedy show. They made their SNL debut in 2007 during an episode hosted by Rainn Wilson. In 2010, they returned alongside host Scarlett Johansson, followed by a 2013 performance during Tina Fey's episode. In 2012, they served as Mick Jagger's backing band. The group returned again in 2018 with Bill Hader and most recently appeared in 2022 during an episode hosted by Benedict Cumberbatch. SNL will close out its milestone 50th season on May 17, with Johansson returning as host and Bad Bunny as the musical guest. Watch Arcade Fire's SNL performances below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
New York Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Restaurants Are Hard Enough to Run. Try Doing It With Your Mother.
Jennifer Lu stood quietly behind a wooden counter modestly adorned with a golden bucket of candy and red flags celebrating the Year of the Snake, which also happens to be the name of her daughter Patty Lu's pastry pop-up. On that particular day, Patty Lu stood zen-like and laser-focused, flipping pastries with chopsticks in the fryer in the cavernous commercial kitchen they operate out of in Berkeley, Calif. But the elder Ms. Lu admitted later in a phone call that they have sometimes fought in front of customers — loudly. When Patty Lu started her pop-up in the East Bay three years ago, she recalled being in the weeds and behind on orders, when her mother appeared in line with her friends to buy pastries. She immediately jumped in to help. 'She's shown up every weekend since and just hasn't left,' said Patty Lu, whose mother continues to drive two hours each week to help out. Parents have become more involved in their adult children's lives and most report that it's for the positive. According to a Pew Research Center survey, nearly 41 percent of parents reported that their young adult child relies on them for a strong amount of emotional support, with mothers identifying as the source of emotional support more frequently than fathers. The feelings are mutual, and many adult children describe their relationships with their parents as healthy and fulfilling. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
