![]() SHAPIRO: How does the sidewalk traffic right now compare to what you would expect mid-afternoon on a typical Monday? And some stores that hadn't been open before have opened up. YOUNG: I was surprised that when I came into Chinatown today, that there are more people, more cars, more activity. ![]() SHAPIRO: So as you step outside of the restaurant and you look down the streets that, when I've been there in the past, have been crowded with vendors and customers and locals and tourists, what does it look like now? It's packed with these very small mom-and-pop stores and restaurants that don't have a lot of elbow room, and that's part of the charm. SHAPIRO: And I guess that's true of so much of Chinatown because - I mean, I've been there. Mei would probably be allowed to seat two tables. I mean, that is one of the concerns that when we finally reopen and there's limited seating, if it's - it only seats about 20 to 25 people. But right now, there are no customers in it at all. And it looks like, if it were full of customers, it would be really hard to do social distancing. SHAPIRO: It's a very narrow shop where there's a banquette running along one wall. And I thought it would be interesting for you to see the restaurant right now because she's struggling. So she actually reopened one month ago for takeout. This is her little Malaysian French restaurant. And this is Mei Chau, the owner and chef of Aux Epices. And she joins us on FaceTime video so we can have a look, too.Īnd, Grace, it looks like you're in one of the restaurants that you've been following since this lockdown started. She's a cookbook writer who's been fighting for the small business owners who fill New York's Chinatown. In Manhattan's Chinatown, normal would be the narrow streets packed with food vendors, fruit and seafood stands filling the sidewalks and pedestrians jostling at crowded subways.įor a firsthand glimpse of how that bustling neighborhood has transformed and what's happening there now as the city slowly opens up, we have reached Grace Young. Of course, not everything is back to normal. Construction, manufacturing and limited retail can start up again. ![]() After months in lockdown and nearly 22,000 deaths from COVID-19, New York City moved to phase one of its reopening today. ![]()
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