Community rallies to help beloved restaurant owner in New York City
MURRAY HILL, Queens (PIX11) — A dumpling restaurant in Murray Hill, Queens, thrives after the Asian American Federation taught the owner a few tricks.
Northern King Dumpling has been around for 17 years, but owner Jinglan Quan took it over seven years ago.
It specializes in homemade dumplings and buns. The restaurant features an authentic mix of Korean and Chinese flavors, a product of owner Jinglan Quan’s own background.
She is of Korean ethnicity but was born in China and immigrated to the United States in 2007.
“It’s all handmade and from like my mom’s recipes,” Quan said.
During the pandemic, business began to suffer, which stressed the owner.
“I have to keep my business going so I can keep all my people, so I always think about how I can keep my business open,” Quan said.
The mom of two quickly pivoted to selling frozen dumplings and turned to the Asian American Federation for business advice, especially on digital marketing.
“I know digital marketing is very important, but I don’t know how to do it, and the one thing is- the language- for me, it takes so much time,” Quan said.
The AAF stepped in to help Quan build her online presence.
“We have optimized her Google profile to make it very clear what they sell here. Before, it just said northern king dumpling, but now we have put it in Korean and Chinese, so people understand it covers both grounds and handmade dumplings, which is a big specialty here that she didn’t think of using as a marketing thing,” Ahyoung Kim, the director of economic empowerment at the Asian American federation, said.
Quan is one of many small businesses the AAF is helping intending to preserve culture in the community.
“We see small business owners on the ethnic corridors as the last safety net in our community. They are the ones that make sure our community members have food security, not just in terms of affordable food but also culturally appropriate food. They’re the ones who give employment options to the most vulnerable,” Kim added.
Quan said she is forever grateful for the support.
It gave her the confidence to open a second restaurant, Guk Su Jip, a homemade noodle restaurant a few blocks away, just last month.
She encourages other small business owners who are struggling to ask for help. The Asian American Federation also encourages any other small businesses who need support or guidance to reach out.
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