VTMBH Article: Body
Read through any Chinatown tour guide, and in addition to dim sum, there will always be a recommendation to try ice cream at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory (CICF), on Bayard Street. Actually, as one of the oldest Chinese-run ice cream stores, the 25-year-old CICF has already attracted a large group of loyal customers, both Chinese and Western, with its special flavors.
I always pass by here on my way home, said Liao, as her five-year-old daughter licked a red bean corn and she held a mango one from the CICF. Some of their flavors you cant find anywhere else, she said.
Every time I come to Chinatown, I come here, said Jana Willinger, who lives in Brooklyn. I can find something different here that I cant find at the chain stores like Haagen Dazs.
Being different is what the five Zhao brothers, who founded and manage the CICF, always pursue. And being different was the reason that 25 years ago, the brothers, who are the second generation of a Chinese immigrant family, didnt pick up typical Chinese industries such as restaurants or laundries, but squeezed into the ice cream industry, which is dominated by large companies.
Zhaos parents emigrated from China to New York in the early 1940s. Because he suffered from anti-immigrant discrimination, Zhaos father picked up a mainstream last name, Seid, for his family. The five brothers still use it on paper, but their first names couldnt be more Chinese: Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, Xin each contains a word from the five virtues of confucism: humanity, justice, propriety, wisdom and faith. The names show Zhaos fathers expectation of his sons. And the five virtues also have become Zhaos brothers management principal and contributed to the survival and success of the CICF.
We were all in our 20s, didnt have money, but did have plenty of adventurous ideas, said Yi Zhao, (Philip Seid), the second of five brothers. Although his father tried various businesses, including a laundromat, his sons wanted to try something different. At the time, the only ice cream store in all of Chinatown was a Carvel chain store on Mott Street, where a Haagen Dazs is located today. Zhaos brother thought the potential market was far from fully served.
None of us know anything about the ice cream industry. But our adventurous personality encouraged us to start the business, said Yi. Without a big budget, the brothers did all the decorating themselves. The wall was done by our oldest brother. The ceiling light was the third brothers job. And the floor was finished by me and other brothers, said Yi.
However, during the first several months, the business was not as good as the five brothers expected. We had all the popular flavors, such as chocolate and vanilla, but people just ignored this small, Chinese-run store, and went to the Carvel as they used to, Yi said. And there had been a Chinese-run ice cream store before us. But it closed soon after its grand opening.
Although they used Seid as their last name on their business cards, it didnt take the Zhao brothers too long to realize that the only way to make the CICF survive was to differentiate it from its mainstream competitors. Thus, several of the Zhaos special flavorstaro, banana, mango, and lycheewere born.
It was not hard. Its actually just a mixture of the popular flavors and Chinese fruits, said Yi. But its our specialty. And it ensured a boom for the CICF.
As the business grew, troubles came as well. There are always some people who dont like you. Yi said. One of them was Carvel, which sued the CICF for copying part of their copyright-protected nameIce Cream Factory. Then, the Chinese gangsters came to collect a protection fee. The case with Carvel only lasted for a week. And we compromised and paid the fine, because we didnt have enough money or time to fight with a big company, said Yi.
But the way the Zhao brothers dealt with gangsters was to, return an eye for an eye and and a tooth for a tooth, an old Chinese expression meaning, treat people in the same manner they treat you.
At that time, the gangs controlled the whole of Chinatown. Most business people didnt dare to confront them. Paying them money was the only way they knew how to deal with gangsters, said Yi. We five were probably among the first who fought back. We had several fights with them. They punched my nose. My brothers and I also beat them badly, said Yi, rubbing his nose as if the fight happened just yesterday. They always threatened to retaliate. But they never returned.
Although they fought bravely against the gangsters, in the eyes of their friends, the Zhao family is nice and loving. Stephen Katz has known Zhaos family since the first time he went into the CICF to buy an ice cream 10 years ago. I like the ice cream. I also like the owners family, said Katz, who then became a family friend of the Zhaos. They are a great Chinese family, in which the family members are very close to each other. Whenever one gets into trouble, the others are always there to help. I think this is a major reason for the success of this family-run store.
Chinatown changed a lot during the past 25 years. The Carvel on Mott Street was replaced by a Haagen Dazs. But the CICF, which has 40 different flavors and 12 specials, has become the best-known ice cream store in Chinatown. Competition is always there, Yi said. But we have our specials. This will be in our blood line forever.
I always pass by here on my way home, said Liao, as her five-year-old daughter licked a red bean corn and she held a mango one from the CICF. Some of their flavors you cant find anywhere else, she said.
Every time I come to Chinatown, I come here, said Jana Willinger, who lives in Brooklyn. I can find something different here that I cant find at the chain stores like Haagen Dazs.
Being different is what the five Zhao brothers, who founded and manage the CICF, always pursue. And being different was the reason that 25 years ago, the brothers, who are the second generation of a Chinese immigrant family, didnt pick up typical Chinese industries such as restaurants or laundries, but squeezed into the ice cream industry, which is dominated by large companies.
Zhaos parents emigrated from China to New York in the early 1940s. Because he suffered from anti-immigrant discrimination, Zhaos father picked up a mainstream last name, Seid, for his family. The five brothers still use it on paper, but their first names couldnt be more Chinese: Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, Xin each contains a word from the five virtues of confucism: humanity, justice, propriety, wisdom and faith. The names show Zhaos fathers expectation of his sons. And the five virtues also have become Zhaos brothers management principal and contributed to the survival and success of the CICF.
We were all in our 20s, didnt have money, but did have plenty of adventurous ideas, said Yi Zhao, (Philip Seid), the second of five brothers. Although his father tried various businesses, including a laundromat, his sons wanted to try something different. At the time, the only ice cream store in all of Chinatown was a Carvel chain store on Mott Street, where a Haagen Dazs is located today. Zhaos brother thought the potential market was far from fully served.
None of us know anything about the ice cream industry. But our adventurous personality encouraged us to start the business, said Yi. Without a big budget, the brothers did all the decorating themselves. The wall was done by our oldest brother. The ceiling light was the third brothers job. And the floor was finished by me and other brothers, said Yi.
However, during the first several months, the business was not as good as the five brothers expected. We had all the popular flavors, such as chocolate and vanilla, but people just ignored this small, Chinese-run store, and went to the Carvel as they used to, Yi said. And there had been a Chinese-run ice cream store before us. But it closed soon after its grand opening.
Although they used Seid as their last name on their business cards, it didnt take the Zhao brothers too long to realize that the only way to make the CICF survive was to differentiate it from its mainstream competitors. Thus, several of the Zhaos special flavorstaro, banana, mango, and lycheewere born.
It was not hard. Its actually just a mixture of the popular flavors and Chinese fruits, said Yi. But its our specialty. And it ensured a boom for the CICF.
As the business grew, troubles came as well. There are always some people who dont like you. Yi said. One of them was Carvel, which sued the CICF for copying part of their copyright-protected nameIce Cream Factory. Then, the Chinese gangsters came to collect a protection fee. The case with Carvel only lasted for a week. And we compromised and paid the fine, because we didnt have enough money or time to fight with a big company, said Yi.
But the way the Zhao brothers dealt with gangsters was to, return an eye for an eye and and a tooth for a tooth, an old Chinese expression meaning, treat people in the same manner they treat you.
At that time, the gangs controlled the whole of Chinatown. Most business people didnt dare to confront them. Paying them money was the only way they knew how to deal with gangsters, said Yi. We five were probably among the first who fought back. We had several fights with them. They punched my nose. My brothers and I also beat them badly, said Yi, rubbing his nose as if the fight happened just yesterday. They always threatened to retaliate. But they never returned.
Although they fought bravely against the gangsters, in the eyes of their friends, the Zhao family is nice and loving. Stephen Katz has known Zhaos family since the first time he went into the CICF to buy an ice cream 10 years ago. I like the ice cream. I also like the owners family, said Katz, who then became a family friend of the Zhaos. They are a great Chinese family, in which the family members are very close to each other. Whenever one gets into trouble, the others are always there to help. I think this is a major reason for the success of this family-run store.
Chinatown changed a lot during the past 25 years. The Carvel on Mott Street was replaced by a Haagen Dazs. But the CICF, which has 40 different flavors and 12 specials, has become the best-known ice cream store in Chinatown. Competition is always there, Yi said. But we have our specials. This will be in our blood line forever.