By Adam Belmares and Yaofeng Zhao
@redlineproject
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago’s Chinatown served as a vibrant cultural and economic hub for the city’s Chinese community.
Post-pandemic, the neighborhood experienced a sharp decline in foot traffic, resulting in business closures, economic downturn and social tensions. Local families, business owners and visitors were directly impacted by the local government-implemented shutdowns.
Wei Keng Zhao, who has lived in Chinatown for more than two decades, experienced the effects of the shutdowns of local restaurants and businesses in a community that relies on tourism to thrive financially.
Along with the shutdown of local businesses came more African American and Latinos residents moving into the community.
“Before the pandemic, there wasn’t a lot of [diversity] in Chinatown, mostly just Chinese people in Chinatown and a few restaurants,” Zhao said. “When COVID-19 hit, everything changed. When the pandemic finally ended, the impression of Chinatown was different and many Americans came to Chinatown to try Chinese food.”
Across the country, the pandemic has caused many Chinatown communities to undergo recovery from economic effects and lack of government funding to help businesses back on their feet.
In 2019, there were 950 stores, restaurants or offices in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Since then, more than 200 of those businesses have closed permanently or temporarily during the peak of the pandemic.
As of 2024, there are now roughly 700 businesses and offices active in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
Located near the Red Line stop at Cermak and the Archer/Wentworth area, Chinatown is widely-known for its delicious restaurants, specialty shops and colorful festivals that draw locals from all across the Chicagoland area along with tourists that prioritized a trip to the historic neighborhood.
However, the arrival of the pandemic dramatically changed things. Five years after the COVID-19 crisis, the effects of the global pandemic still impact Chinatown, resulting in an increase in social tension and economic setbacks.
As the neighborhood slowly recovers, long-term implications from the pandemic continues to influence how the community rebuilds and redefines its identity in a changing urban landscape.
Pre-Pandemic Chinatown
Before the pandemic disrupted the daily life of Chinatown residents and business owners, the area thrived as a hub of Chinese culture, commerce and community life.
A census reported by the Chicago Sun-Times in 2020 found that Asian Americans were the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in Chicago. The Asian American population across the city saw an increase of about 31 percent from 2010 to 2020, highlighting that the area served as a place of belonging and identity for many of these Chinese immigrants.
The increase of Chinese immigrants foreshadowed the increase of social networks among Chinatown residents and strengthening the community’s support systems.
Despite other Chinatowns across the nation falling into an endangered state, such as the case in Philadelphia and Seattle, one of Chicago’s most popular tourist destinations continued to grow at a record-breaking pace.
The convenient route to the Red Line Cermak-Chinatown station allowed the area to be easily accessible to locals across the city to attend events hosted in the area after a long work shift and after classes for university students during weekdays.
The route served as a hot spot for tourists on the weekend, resulting in high attendance in Chinese traditional celebrations.
In March, 2020, Governor J.B. Pritzker announced a statewide mandate closing indoor dining services to help slow down the spread of COVID-19.
Impact of COVID-19
The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic brought devastating consequences to Chinatown’s economy and social fabric.
Health concerns and lockdowns disrupted local businesses, misinformation linking the virus to China fueled anti-Asian racism, and many tourists avoided Chinatown, labeling it a “ghost town.”
A combination of the lack of knowledge about the virus and the spread of misinformation in the media enforced harmful stereotypes towards Chinese people across the country, leading to hate crimes and labeling the cause of the virus towards the Chinese population.
Darryl Tom, principal officer of the Chicago Chinatown Community Foundation, along with many Chinatown organizations, were devastated by the loss of foot-traffic and pausing local events, viewing it as a threat to the foundation of Chinatown culture.
“During the pandemic, a lot of businesses were closed because of the economy,” he said. “Many festivals were cancelled or pushed back like the Lunar Years, Dragon Boat Festival, Chinatown Summer Fair, etc.”
Festive cultural events such as the annual Lunar New Year parade, Dragon Boat Race, Taste of Chinatown, and Mid-Autumn Festival were all halted for an extended period of time due to the shutdowns of local vendors and well-established dine-in restaurants.
The pausing of these highly anticipated events city-wide harshly impacted the economic benefits that Chinatown as a whole relies on to sustain itself financially.
The spread of a negative reputation and fear installed in Chicago residents towards the Chinatown community forced small businesses to close permanently or sell their property.
Between April 2020 through April 2021, a UIC study reported that 385 food businesses closed in Chicago, a drastic decline during the first year of the pandemic.
The closing of many local restaurants flipped the script and erased the rapid growth the community was experiencing prior to the pandemic, putting the community backward.
Post-Pandemic Recovery
Although Chinatown underwent economic recovery and regained some visitors, it faced new challenges.
On June 25, 2020, Chicago entered Phase 4 of the COVID-19 reopening process, allowing indoor dining and outdoor dine-in seating to return.
“After the recovery from the pandemic,” Tom said. “Now the Chicago Chinatown is the same as before the pandemic.”
Many businesses in the Chinatown Square mall began adjusting and preparing for a massive turnout by organizing limited indoor dining and outdoor seating for customers to return.
A couple weeks into the reopening of Chinatown local businesses, news reports highlighted that many businesses were back on track and even doing better than before the pandemic financially.
The reopening of the Chicago Water Taxi service in May 2021, which serves as one of the most popular routes for visiting Chinatown from other parts of the city, allowed local Chicagoans and tourists to gain a sense of normalcy.
The reopening of businesses across Chinatown resulted in the rise of rental costs and spaces due to economic recovery that the area was experiencing, fueled by a high demand of locals eager to get out the house after experiencing a period of quarantining.
According to the Chicago Data Portal, the number of businesses joining the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce dropped from 35 to 17 from 2019 to 2020. As of a 2023 update, this number has increased to 25 but has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.
The lack of businesses joining the chamber demonstrated the uncertainty that business owners experienced in investing in the community due to the fear of not being able to keep their spot in Chinatown due to high rent.
Furthermore, the Wentworth Avenue area and Chinatown Square Plaza’s rent for a space skyrocketed, leaving local restaurant owners having no chance at competing for a spot or being kicked out of their property by well-established corporations that had the funds to afford the new set price of rent.
As a result, a majority of Chinatown locals migrated to Bridgeport and McKinley Park, leading to the Chinatown’s Armour Square’s population to drop by nine percent in 2020 alone. The search for affordable property became a huge issue for Chinatown residents.
In January 2024, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection included Chinatown’s Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community organization as grant recipients for a $2.7 million plan associated with Chicago’s Recovery Plan.
Despite still being below what it was pre-pandemic, the number of businesses invested in the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce rose to 25 in 2023, demonstrating Chinatown’s economic recovery and local businesses thriving again.
The opening of two new Asian American and Pacific Islander small business incubators in Chinatown gave aspiring entrepreneurs an opportunity to compete with large corporations and become active in Chinatown’s economic recovery in the retail environment.
Today, Chinatown’s recovery continues to be a work in progress, with local businesses slowly reappearing that were once in the mix pre-pandemic.
Through government assistance, Chicagoans’ loyalty toward revisiting Chinatown, and the demand from tourists for its valued cuisine options and cultural atmosphere, Chinatown has crawled out of the economic hole and continues to remain one of Chicago’s most iconic neighborhoods.
FAQ
What was Chicago’s Chinatown like before the COVID-19 pandemic?
A: Before the pandemic, Chicago’s Chinatown was a vibrant cultural and economic hub for the city’s Chinese community, relying heavily on tourism to thrive financially. It was widely known for its specialty shops, delicious restaurants, and colorful festivals. The area was experiencing rapid growth, serving as a place of belonging and identity for many Chinese immigrants, as Asian Americans were the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in Chicago between 2010 and 2020.
How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact the neighborhood?
A: The arrival of the pandemic brought devastating consequences, including a sharp decline in foot traffic, business closures, and economic downturn. Misinformation linking the virus to China fueled anti-Asian racism, leading tourists to avoid the area and sometimes labeling it a “ghost town”. Essential cultural celebrations like the Lunar New Year parade and Dragon Boat Festival were halted, harshly impacting the economic benefits Chinatown relies on.
Did local businesses close permanently?
A: Yes. A UIC study reported that 385 food businesses closed in Chicago between April 2020 and April 2021. The negative reputation and fear installed in Chicago residents forced many small businesses to close permanently or sell their property, erasing the rapid growth the community had been experiencing.
What were the biggest challenges faced during the post-pandemic recovery?
A: As the economy recovered, rental costs for spaces in the Wentworth Avenue area and Chinatown Square Plaza skyrocketed. This high demand and rising rent left many local restaurant owners unable to compete, resulting in a majority of Chinatown locals migrating to Bridgeport and McKinley Park. The Armour Square population in Chinatown dropped by nine percent in 2020 alone.
Is Chicago’s Chinatown fully recovered today?
A: Recovery continues to be a work in progress. While the number of businesses joining the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce is still below pre-pandemic levels (rising to 25 in 2023 from a low of 17 in 2020), there are signs of economic recovery. Government assistance, such as grant recipients included in Chicago’s Recovery Plan, along with the loyalty of Chicagoans and demand from tourists, is helping the neighborhood remain one of Chicago’s most iconic.