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Endangered Korean Delis May Be Extinct Within A Decade
By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 2, 2011
Modified Jun 2, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 2, 2011
Modified Jun 2, 2011
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Fewer Korean-Americans are running delis these days, and those still left in the game are being squeezed out of business by lower-priced chain stores, online ordering, obscene rent, and tougher enforcement by city inspection agencies. But you already knew all this. Still, today's Times article about the Korean deli crisis is nothing to shrug off: Chong Sik Lee, president of The Korean-American Grocers Association of New York, says he as just half the members as he did a decade ago, when they numbered 600. He tells the Times, "In 10 years, there will be no more Korean mom-and-pop stores."
Much like City Journal did six months ago, the Times takes a broad look at the Korean deli phenomenon, which started in the '70s and spread far and wide in NYC, often providing the only source for fresh produce and food in low-income neighborhoods. They sometimes provided racial tension, too; in 1990 black demonstrators boycotted the Family Red Apple store on Church Avenue in Brooklyn because they said the owners had been "hostile" toward them.
And unlike other immigrant groups, the second generation hasn't generally taken over the family business. One second generation Korean deli owner on the Upper West Side tells the Times, "When [my children] get bad grades, my wife says, ‘You want to work in a fruit store all your life?’... If I had to do it all over again, I would have sold the business 10 years ago." It reminded us of our interview with Ben Ryder Howe, author of My Korean Deli, in which he explains why he got out of the business:
One of the things I noticed, the more time I spent with people in the deli business, is how many deli owners seem to have heart attacks in their forties and fifties. It’s a brutal profession. The profit margins are so slim and things can go wrong so fast — you’re constantly worrying. Plus, the people who are attracted to the business, or at least the ones who stay in it, are, I think, pretty intense in general. And then you constantly have things happening that make your blood boil — problem customers, deliverymen who don’t show up, surprise visits by inspectors. It’s bad for your health, on top of the crazy hours and total lack of vacations.
Sheesh, now we get why they sometimes give us attitude when we ask them for quarters for the bus. Have you hugged your Korean deli owner today? Maybe let it slide when he/she refuses to give you extra napkins with your sandwich.
Tagged
american dream
economics
immigration
korean deli
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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