Elmhurst, Queens, is considered one of the couple Chinatowns in New York City (NYC). It is considered the second largest Southeast-Asian community in Queens, with Flushing, Queens charting the top. With over 50% of the community being Asian, the commercial spaces within Elmhurst reflect heavily on its consumers and residents (see Figure 1).
Elmhurst, Queens is entranced with Asian culture. From just walking from 82nd to 86th Street (see Figure 2), you will gain insight into the inhabitants of the community and the customers they appeal to. In walking these four blocks, I saw a plethora of Asian mom-and-pop shops and businesses. The blocks include shops like cafes, liquor shops, and restaurants, along with places that offer pediatric, dental, and religious services. One common theme about these places was their usage of multilingual signs. All the signs I photographed included Mandarin and English text, with some outliers including other languages such as Spanish and Vietnamese.
One thing that I noticed when analyzing the signs was that not all of them used the same form of Chinese text. Some of the signs use the traditional form of Chinese characters rather than the standardized simplified Chinese, i.e., the pharmacy, supermarket, and dentist, seen respectively in Figures 3 to 5. The usage of traditional Chinese sheds light on who frequently visits and engages within these places. All Chinese-speaking countries wrote in traditional Chinese up until the 1950s after the introduction of simplified Chinese in Mainland China. This alludes to the presence of an older population of Chinese people residing in Elmhurst. Many of the places that include traditional Chinese signage are more frequently used by the older population. This can be attributed to the coverage of products and services by government programs such as Medicare and SNAP. Medicare provides medical insurance for people aged 65 and over, while SNAP provides food assistance for people aged 60 and above. Government incentives prompt the elderly to utilize these places, contributing to overall business and success. Moreover, the presence of traditional Chinese also alludes to the presence of a Taiwanese and Cantonese population. Traditional Chinese is frequently used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. By using traditional Chinese signage, they are effectively appealing to a specific market.
Another thing I noticed was the usage of Chinese characters in restaurants that aren’t exactly Chinese-owned. One example would be the Pho Bang Restaurant, a Vietnamese restaurant (as seen in Figure 6). On the corner of 82nd Street, the restaurant stands as an Elmhurst gem that serves authentic Vietnamese cuisine in a predominantly Chinese community. Their bright red sign consists of Vietnamese, simplified Chinese, and English characters and text. The signage reflects the community they operate in and is a huge indicator of who frequents the restaurant and who they are catering to. Additionally, as someone who stops by regularly, the menu and the staff at Pho Bang reflect the signage. The menu includes all three languages, along with a Vietnamese staff force that can speak all three languages to a conversational degree. Moreover, Pho Bang remains an outlier from its surrounding Chinese businesses. The authentic Vietnamese cuisine they serve along with the Vietnamese staff running the operations provides a place for Vietnamese people to gather and enjoy Vietnamese cuisine in a predominantly Chinese community. Despite this, the restaurant has found tremendous long-term success by integrating itself into the community, highlighting the melting pot that is NYC.
However, the success of the Pho Bang restaurant and other authentic Vietnamese restaurants in predominantly Chinese communities have attracted and erected competition that solely caters to Chinese customers. Pho Best, a Chinese franchise, was erected as a response to the booming success of Vietnamese cuisine, especially pho, within Chinese communities (see Figure 7). One of the locations is in Elmhurst, Queens, and is conveniently located on the corner of 83rd Street, right across from Pho Bang. One major difference between the signs is the conciseness. The Pho Best sign is a lot more concise and includes a mascot; the train. The train mascot comes from the “火車頭,” the traditional Chinese character on the sign, which directly translates to “locomotive.” Moreover, the regulatory signs plastered on the door of Pho Best are all in a mixture of simplified and traditional Chinese and English (see Figure 8). Despite being listed as a Vietnamese restaurant, none of the regulatory signs reflect it. Additionally, the menu also excludes Vietnamese text, along with a Fuzhounese staff force that can speak Mandarin, Fuzhounese (a dialect of Chinese), and English. The lack of Vietnamese and the heavy presence of Chinese text suggests that Pho Best serves a different purpose compared to Pho Bang. Pho Best’s purpose is to capitalize on the popularity of pho and Vietnamese cuisine in predominantly Chinese communities. The lack of Vietnamese text suggests that Pho Best is not trying to cater to Vietnamese people at all. Their resulting product is an inauthentic version of Vietnamese cuisine, similar to how Chipotle streamlines and fast foodifies Mexican cuisine. Pho Bang, on the other hand, is a product of its environment. Given how exponentially they can profit off Chinese consumers, they work their business around Chinese people, while maintaining a sense of authenticity and community for other Vietnamese people residing in Elmhurst.
Another observation I made about the signs was red. As seen in the figures above, many shops incorporate the heavy usage of red within their signs. Out of the shops with red signs, many of them were associated with the food service industry. This can be attributed to the role of color in psychologically influencing someone. In relation to food and marketing, red is known to trigger and enhance one’s appetite. However, this may not apply to all Chinese shops associated with food service as this psychological phenomenon is exploited more in modern Western establishments and differs from the. Additionally, other shops that have no association with food service utilize red signage as well. To understand the prominence of red in Chinese communities, specifically on signs, we can trace it back to its symbolization and role in Chinese culture and society. Red is synonymous with luck, joy, and prosperity Additionally, the color is deep-rooted within Chinese culture and is present in the highest degree of formality and traditions, i.e., red envelopes during Lunar New Year, and weddings (Chinese weddings are extremely formal). Due to the color’s cultural significance in Chinese, it is a no-brainer as to why such establishments in Elmhurst would incorporate red within their signage.
Overall, a community’s signage directly reflects its demographics and consumers. The signage found from 82nd to 86th Street Elmhurst, Queens, sheds light on its predominant Chinese population and its influence on the consumers these establishments are appealing to. Through a meticulous analysis of several observations using web sources, I learned more about one of my communities and the power of intentionality. For instance, shops that provide essential services and goods utilize traditional Chinese rather than simplified Chinese to attract an older Chinese population. Additionally, the usage of red and simplified Chinese on signs belonging to an authentic Vietnamese restaurant can be seen as a way in attracting Chinese customers. While these elements on the various signs reflect the large Chinese population present in Elmhurst, these choices come down to the money and capitalization of a large Chinese consumer pool.