After nearly three years of planning, organizing and outreach, the Massachusetts Asian Restaurant Association (MARA) held its official launch party on November 9. Founders Sumiao Chen, Bob Wong, Xiaoyan Huang, Jason Yu, Huiming Guo and Andy Kuang, combined their knowledge and passion for Asian cuisine and restaurants after hearing stories of aging back-of-house staff, legal struggles, and the lack of buying power back in 2018. MARA’s ultimate goal is to educate and support Asians and Asian Americans in the restaurant industry.
After officially registering as a nonprofit, MARA set out to personally introduce itself to restaurant owners throughout the Greater Boston Area. However, they found it difficult to establish a base level of trust with community members. “They would say ‘We don’t have money to pay lawyers, or pay consultants to help us,’” said Sumiao Chen, MARA president and co-founder, when speaking of her experience going door-to-door. Chen expressed that the initial barrier of trust was a difficult one to break, but that through continuous outreach efforts, as well as community service and networking with other organizations, MARA began to see a breakthrough. At the same time, they were working on building an initial benefit package for members, starting with reduced costs for services.
Connected with the larger Massachusetts Restaurant Association (MRA), MARA offers member benefits that can be utilized within both organizations, including automatic membership with the MRA. The partnership with the MRA and MARA began when Chen, an MRA member, realized she was the only Asian restaurant owner in the mix. This not only drove the inspiration to form MARA, but to connect Asian and non-Asian restaurant owners, so those who are not within the AAPI community can better understand their fellow restaurateurs. “That was a turning point for MARA,” Chen explained, “because they started talking to MRA leadership to…get support from them. Eventually, we signed an alliance agreement between the two organizations.”
“We’re excited to launch a partnership with [MARA] and [MRA] solely to help Chinese restaurants, not only in their day-to-day operations, but also [to help them] come out of the pandemic stronger,” said MRA vice president Steve Clark, during an interview with BARTV.
The first preliminary open house for MARA began right before the pandemic hit the United States in February 2020. Chen recalled it fondly, “I still remember that event …we had 30 people join the open house. Twenty [joined] virtually, and five MRA leaders joined us.” By the end of the day, MARA had around 11 new members. Once COVID-19 forced a nationwide shutdown, MARA remained incredibly active, hosting weekly virtual chat rooms for members and potential members alike. They assisted restaurateurs with matters regarding safety protocols, landlords and rent payments, and adjusting business models to remain afloat during the shutdown. They also began, and still continue to, translate the MRA newsletter to Chinese.
Before the inception of MARA, Chen was an avid fan and advocate for AAPI-owned restaurants. “My whole family enjoyed food, we were cooking together all the time. My home town is a small town in Hunan Province. Food is a key language in networking with people, building relationships,” she explained. After arriving in the U.S. in the 90s, Chen was faced with disappointment upon seeing the state of Chinese restaurants in the commonwealth. “I started reading a lot of books, and [learned] about the history [of these restaurants],” she said, “my family…we eat in restaurants all the time…to try to understand why Chinese food cannot come into the mainstream like French cuisine, [or] Mexican cuisine.” After various investment endeavors and certification programs in hospitality management, Chen opened her own Chinese restaurant in Kendall Square, Sumiao Hunan Kitchen.
This year, with the help of the MRA, MARA was able to break from its virtual bubble and host in-person events to garner support and membership. In October, MARA held a meet-n-greet in Allston, and went door-to-door in the Allston/Brighton area to continue introducing itself. Then, about a month later, the official launch party brought in nearly 400 guests and 40 sponsors to support the mission of MARA. Special guest speakers included MA house representatives Tackey Chan and Donald Wong, MRA president Bob Luz, executive director Keiko Orrall of the MA Office of Travel and Tourism, and Nornan Eng from the US Small Businesses Administration.
MARA will continue its outreach efforts, as membership remains the largest hurdle in their overall success. They aim to keep up the personal introductions around the Greater Boston Area, and are in the midst of planning a job fair for those looking to join the restaurant industry. One thing they wish to accomplish is to garner enthusiasm amongst younger workers to join and learn about the restaurant business. They have seen various instances of aging staff in restaurants, and wish to inspire the next generation to feel the same love for Asian cuisine that they do.
