It began with suspicious looks on the street. Then visits by shoppers and diners dwindled. Now, a year since the coronavirus spread globally, many small business owners in Chinatowns around the world are shutting up shop.
On the eve of Lunar New Year — traditionally her busiest trading season, Joanne Kwong was planning to close down Pearl River Mart's flagship store in New York's Chinatown half a century since it was established by her Taiwanese in-laws.
"The revenue isn't matching all of the costs we have to pay for and that have been piling up over the last 13 months," Kwong said.