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restaurant” to non-Asian people but also tells Chinese people to not expect the most authentic food. However, when looking at modernday restaurants in cities like New York, Washington and even Chicago, it’s very rare to see the chop suey font, with many places opting for simpler typefaces. It’s almost like the font itself has become taboo because of its association with Chinese American stereotypes. Today, the font remains prevalent on takeout boxes, which evokes images of greasy, fast meals — more comfort food than sophisticated dinners. Instead, second-generation Asian American restaurant owners have begun moving away from this font. One such local Chinese restaurant is Lao Peng You — “old friend” in Mandarin. Instead of translating the Chinese name to English, the restaurant opted to keep it in Chinese Pinyin, with the characters written underneath. Additionally, instead of the classic red and gold colors, the storefront is forest green, its name written in a simple sans serif. Especially in Chicago, where there’s a large Asian population, these restaurants target Asian Americans who miss food from their homeland. By keeping the name entirely in Chinese and turning towards a blank restaurant face, they blend into their surroundings, opting for dishes to be heard more through word of mouth. Even
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in cities with less Asians, restaurants maintain this simplistic style. In recent years, with the rise of TikTok and home cooking from the pandemic, more people are inclined to have food from different cultures. The chop suey font and striking red decorations have become symbolic of Asian American food. These restaurants display Chinese names instead of the usual imprecisely translated ones, making them seem more authentic. Foreigners are thus drawn to the restaurant to try something new and get a taste of the real thing. As someone who is a second-generation Chinese American myself, I similarly feel that pull to authentication and home roots, in hopes of not breaking our family line. However, I also believe that this cycle will and has continued. These aesthetics will be the next representation of Asian food, and they’ll gain popularity as it attracts more and more customers. Places like Tao, a restaurant and nightclub with locations in cities including
Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, have already optimized this tactic and garnered interest from both my Asian friends and other friends alike, even though, at its core, it’s not the same as real Asian food. And that’s OK. This is just the push and pull of branding in the business world. However, unlike the chop suey font, we must ensure that this font, along with any other ethnic font, is only used for good intentions. Whether it’s outside the restaurant world or not, I believe that we all have the awareness now to recognize when a font is used as a business tactic and when it is rooted in hate.
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nuAZN 31 7 FALL 2024 || nuAZN FALL 2024