S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman. On today's show , we speak with Alan Chan , one of KPBS local heroes and one of our trailblazers for AAPI Heritage Month. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Back in 1994 , Doctor Alan Chan opened Jasmine Seafood Restaurant in San Diego's Convoy District. It quickly became a local staple , serving authentic dim sum and bringing people together in community. Well , today , Jasmine Seafood is one of the oldest and largest Asian seafood restaurants in San Diego. But Doctor Chan isn't just a restauranteur. He's also a chiropractor and an advocate for San Diego's Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. In 2014 , he was named a KPBS local Hero , and tomorrow evening , the City of San Diego will celebrate him as a leadership honoree for the AAPI Heritage Month. Doctor Alan Chan joins me now. Welcome back to Midday Edition , Doctor Chan.
S2: Thank you for inviting me to come to this beautiful studio. I wish I have one.
S1: It's always great to have you here. Um , you know , the last time we had you had you in show or on the show , we were talking about the Lunar New Year traditions. And you brought in some some delicious food from Jasmine Seafood Restaurant. Um , food that we're all still talking about , by the way , for the for those who don't know about the restaurant.
S2: A big melting pot. But we only serve from Cantonese seafood and dim sum. But the people there is , just like America , a reflection of the American community from people from all over the world are there to try our food there and to talk about business , to talk about family , and also talk about the community. Um , especially on the weekend , you will see big tables of big families , three generations , four generations of people having their having fun and dining at the restaurant. And this is Asian tradition is on the weekend. And then we can go in and eat together and then go shopping. Okay. During the weekdays we had to work. Yeah , yeah , yeah. So , um , it's a fun place.
S1: Yeah , yeah. No , that's that's the way to do it.
S2:
S1: Wow , 34 years. Well , I want to hear hear that story , because I know that you also studied to be a chiropractor.
S2: We'll make it short. Okay. All right. I came to America for college in 1970 , and I didn't know anybody in in America. And to support myself through college , I had to work. At that time , foreign students are allowed to work. So I supported myself for four years working in San Francisco , Chinatown , the best restaurants over there. And that's where I learned the restaurant business. So there's always an interest. Maybe someday I'll have my own restaurant. Yeah. And when I moved to San Diego in 88 to open my own chiropractic office , and I met somebody in the restaurant in San Diego , and , uh , I was impressed by him , and I captured him. Maybe someday. You want to open another restaurant. Call me up. Okay. I'm not sure. It's fortunately or unfortunately. A year and a half later , he came to my office and I could not take back my work. So I supported him , join him , and helped design the restaurant and opened the restaurant on December 31st , 1993. That day is the first day of business and it was a charity fundraiser for the community.
S1: Wow ! I love how you just went on and put the word out there , you know ? Hey , by the way , if you ever want to open up another restaurant , you know I'm here. It worked out , uh , a lot to learn from that.
S2: Um , anyway. Um , I do. Um , I mentioned that I , um , uh , retired from chiropractic after the pandemic , so I just go into the restaurant and enjoy the food and enjoy talking to people. And what I get out of talking to the customers at Jasmine gives me the same job satisfaction as I treat my patient. Help him get well because they like the food. They thank me. Instead , I thank them for for having Jasmine in San Diego. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , jasmine seafood is a real staple in the convoy district , and today the area is home to over 200 Asian owned businesses. It's also one of the largest pan-Asian business districts in the US.
S2: A long convoy. Okay. And , uh , as you know , I'm also the co-founder of APAC , Asian Pacific American Coalition. And then back in 2011 , the volunteers and gay community activists , we all took part in , um , to the , um , redistricting hearing. We would try to see if we can have a , an Asian influence , the city council district , because the with a big population in the Asian Pacific islands in San Diego and right now it's like more than 17%. But we didn't have a voice. Okay. So in 2011 , we , the community , with the community support , we succeeded in having As they establish an Asian influenced city council district , which is district six and convoy area are now convoy. Convoy cultural and business district. Okay. Proper time point. Um , is the central business district in the district six , the Asian district. And the second one will be a Mira mesa area. Okay. And you mentioned 200 restaurants. Actually , that was six years ago.
S1: Oh , please. Update. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. When when the first Asian City Council district , um , district six council member that we elected helped to elect it. He did a survey and he found out that , okay , it's already over 200 restaurants , okay , in that area , but now it will be a lot more , maybe hundreds of restaurants there now. Oh , wow. That's why you go there. You , like , go to United Nation. Yeah. And with with restaurants from different countries , different ethnic backgrounds. Right ? Yeah.
S1: Well , Doctor Chan , I mean , it's it's it's very important for the AA , AAPI community , uh , to have this , this central area. But it's also important for the San Diego community. Tell me a bit about why that is. Do you think ? Yeah.
S2: Um , Asian and Pacific Islander Americans and communities , they have a vibrant history and culture. Okay. And , uh , it's my belief that , uh , as immigrants and descendants of immigrants , actually , we are. Okay. And so we have the obligation to preserve the best of each culture , promote it , and incorporate that into becoming the great American culture , because America is like what they say is a big melting pot , a sweet pop , and we are responsible for putting there all the best ingredients in there to make that a great soup. Right. And to make that a great American culture. Yeah.
S1: Well , being a restaurant owner , I mean , it comes with a lot of challenges I can imagine. I mean , being a business owner in general does. But a restaurant owner , you're juggling so many things. For one , I imagine keeping the doors open during Covid was pretty difficult.
S2: So having that setup there during the pandemic really help because even though we could not open the restaurant dining room , but people can only go there , still get the most the items on the menu , especially dim sum items. Okay , so that they can take it to the office for the lunch. Okay. And it's quick. You don't have to wait for a long time because the dishes are being steamed prepared already. Okay. And then just , um , just like you go in the dining room. Okay. Because when you sit down the cards , the dim sum cards are already there. You can pick whatever you want to eat and talk about business or whatever and go back to work. Yeah. Okay. During pandemic. Same thing can be done. So you can order that they can go back to the restaurant or go back to the office or go back to home. Okay. And have a meal there right away. Okay. Um , same thing for dinner time. Okay. So ? So it helps. It helps us. It helps the community to function. Okay. As usual. Quote unquote. As usual.
S1: Well , since the beginning , Jasmine Seafood Restaurant has prioritized not just food , but but community advocacy , which I think is really great because you've been involved in a number of fundraisers over the years.
S2: Okay. We designed the restaurant so that it can have big , bigger functions , which actually we could have almost 600 people a wedding over there. Like for my daughters. Okay. Um , but also is designed to have community events. Okay. Fundraisers , uh , celebrations for New Year , Chinese New year , new year or. Okay ? Fundraiser for KPBS. Fundraiser for Children's hospital. Okay. All kind of events can be held because designed that way. Because we have a stage and sound system and everything. Um. As immigrants like myself , when I arrived in San Diego , I did not know a soul. Okay. And through the years , what we have achieved in the chiropractic business practice or in the restaurant business or whatever we do for in the community , is all from getting support and encouragement from the community. Without them , we could not achieve what we have achieved today. Okay. And raising up in back in Hong Kong or Shanghai , um , we were taught that never forget the source of the water that you drink. Always remember the people who help us when we are in need. So , like I said , what we receive is because of the support. Okay. Anchorage community. So it's natural that when we are able to , we should do whatever we can without jeopardizing the family life to give back to the community that nurture us. Right.
S1: Right. Okay.
S2: Okay. And that's why , okay , we we are able to do a lot of fundraisers for charity , for disaster relief. Okay. Because the community support can't do it by myself. So important. Okay.
S1:
S2: We keep growing. Okay. It's not just a long convoy street. Okay. It's in the neighboring streets. And , um , I was also involved in the , um , community plan. Okay. Um , planning for the future of the District of Columbia area. So we are seeing more and more housing units being built over there. Okay. That will bring more people living there and work there. That's what we want. We want to be engaged , expand the area , make it grow more prosperous and and and convenient to so people without having to drive and increase the traffic jam on the freeway in the streets.
S1: That is great. I've been speaking with Doctor Alan Chan. He's the owner of Jasmine Seafood Restaurant in the convoy district. He's also a chiropractor and prominent community leader. Doctor Chan , congratulations on on your accolades. And thank you for all of the work that you do.
S2: Thank you. Thank you for your support and your courage.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
