Nom Wah’s Wilson Tang says this past Monday was his slowest in five years. Photo: Liz Clayman Restaurateurs in Chinatown say their businesses are suffering because of the panic about coronavirus. They say that the neighborhood has been noticeably less busy, while there have been no confirmed cases in New York yet during the outbreak that has infected 28,000 people worldwide.
According to Wilson, business at the perpetually packed spot was down 40 percent on February 3. The month of February is typically a slow one for restaurants, he concedes, but not to this degree. “The past Monday was the slowest Monday we’ve had in five years. It’s just unprecedented, how the business has dropped because of this whole situation that we’re in,” Tang says. “It sucks. The past couple days suck. We’ve been letting people go early, just to let them take some extra time off.
Derek Wu of Wu’s Wonton King, a busy neighborhood spot that’s become a trendy food-world favorite, says that while business is “only a little slower,” he’s talked to many other owners in Chinatown, Flushing, and Sunset Park who are affected in a big way. Mei Chau of Malaysian-French spot Aux Epices says she’s seen a significant drop since the World Health Organization’s announcement about the virus.
As the New York Times reports, business in Chinatown at hotel and restaurants has been sagging, and Lam says that, from his staff’s anecdotal accounts, they’re feeding fewer tourists and a higher ratio of Chinatown locals. “It’s not necessarily just because other Americans are avoiding Chinatowns, I think the Chinese immigrant population in Chinatowns are also very wary of the virus and have been avoiding crowds,” Wang says.
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