Restaurants in Chinatown and beyond anticipate that this year’s Chinese New Year will be different from past celebrations. While business owners said they believe people will still find ways to keep the spirit alive, many spaces whose banquets bring in a significant amount of revenue will be cutting back on the festivities. The holiday will mostly be honored at home, owners said.

“We haven’t been prepping in the sense that we have in the past, because of COVID and the limited capacity that’s legally mandated by the City of Boston,” said Patty Moy, manager of China Pearl in Chinatown. “I don’t believe that we will be doing any indoor festivities.” She added, “Banquet-wise, it’s definitely nonexistent. We don’t have any of those. No pre-bookings, nothing.”

At China Pearl, there will be limited indoor seating, with a ninety-minute time frame for visitors to stay, in order to help with traffic flow, said Moy. There is no specific menu set in stone, but if customers call in in advance to make a special order, they can be accommodated. Moy said that she anticipates that many people will stay home and order takeout to ring in the New Year. While Feb. 12 marks an occasion when celebrations will have to be unlike past years, Moy said that the hardships have been going on ever since the pandemic hit.

“It’s already difficult,” said Moy. “We were already affected since COVID, since mid-March 2020. It’s been difficult because all banquets have been canceled. Never mind Chinese New Year – it’s all the same. We’re taking things day by day. How we do today is dependent on whether or not we can be open the next day. …For us, we’re really dependent on weekends. The rest of the days, Chinatown is just dead. There’s no one out there.” Moy added that the restaurant, hanging by a thread, has tried to employ every idea they can think of, including delivery, takeout, and outdoor seating options.

Meanwhile, for Sumiao Hunan Kitchen in Kendall, the restaurant will be holding indoor seating for Chinese New Year and will also feature a special menu. Owner Sumiao Chen said that she thinks many families will engage in virtual parties, while there will be fewer people at the eatery than usual. This past year, revenue has gone down by a third, according to Chen. Now, 90% of sales come from takeout, and only 10% come from dining in. This change starkly contrasts pre-pandemic conditions, when the restaurant saw 80% of sales come from dining in and 20% from takeout. The coronavirus has made work very stressful, said Chen.

“Safety becomes a major concern and the highest priority,” said Chen. “We are only able to open at a quarter of the capacity. At the same time, we would like to retain our employees, as many as we can. [There’s] food costs and additional PPE. Sales have dropped down, while at the same time, the cost of ingredients have increased, due to the pandemic.  It’s hard to find staff who will feel safe to come back to work, so we have to pay more.  Costs are extremely higher than before the pandemic.” 

Yong Yong Restaurant in Malden has also been navigating this difficult time. According to owner Yong Xie, the dining space will not have a Chinese New Year special menu and will most likely be takeout only. This decision was partly made because the restaurant lost over half of its employees over the past year, said Xie. Many staff members were anxious about the risk of coming in to work, and Xie said that Yong Yong did not have enough business to cover paying the workers. Xie said that it is possible that after Chinese New Year, the restaurant may have to close for some time and reopen at the end of spring or early summer.

Ronnie Tow, a Medford resident who grew up in Chinatown, said that he believes this upcoming Chinese New Year will be less public and see fewer groupings. However, he maintains that the culinary scene is an important part of life in neighborhoods like Chinatown.

“Food was always, and still is for many cultures, a bonding [experience],” said Tow. “…Many of the restaurants bring back those great memories, bring back those flavors, those smells. Many of the restaurants have different types of food from different provinces. …It’s definitely a way to bring back memories and connect with your own culture. Food is powerful.” 

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