Happy Home & Business: ‘We’ll Resume Building The Community’
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For those who were in Beijing during the 2003 SARS outbreak, the advent of COVID-19 felt more like a massive nightmare relived. Memories of a country shut down and a society crippled with fear wasn’t far from those who had witnessed the first pandemic sweep through China and the subsequent changes it imprinted on the psyches of the then Beijing residents. For Jen Lin-Liu, author and founder of Black Sesame Kitchen and her family, a much-needed family vacation turned into anxious expectation as news of just how severe the virus was to become was yet to come to light. And as one of the original SARS expats, she knew all too well just how bad things could become, and she was forced to make decisions that only a concerned mother would to keep her family safe, possibly at the expense of her business. But as they say, all’s fair in love and war, and now global pandemics as the rules of the game have changed from profitability to sustainability and surviving to see the end of the pandemic.
How long have you and your family been in China and what made you decide to move this far East?
I have lived in Beijing on and off since 2000 when I first came on a
Fulbright fellowship. It is our second home beyond the United States,
where my husband and I are from. Most recently, my husband and I
returned to Beijing with our two children in 2017. We wanted our
children to study Mandarin and I wanted to help the cooking school that I
founded, Black Sesame Kitchen, with operations.
What do you do and how long have you been in business?
What were you and your family’s initial reactions when COVID-19 first hit the news?
What were your expectations as far as the virus and its effect on daily life and business in Beijing?
This time around, for the first couple of weeks, in mid-January, while we were still in Colorado on a ski vacation, we paid closer attention to the news but still feeling like it was going to be contained. It began to dawn on me that things were going to change when my mother, who lives in California, began calling me almost daily. She had planned to come and visit us when we returned to China, and so had my husband’s parents.
We made the decision not to return just two days before our flight was scheduled to leave, after we learned that the school my children attended would not be resuming as scheduled. The main reason we did not go back was not our fear of COVID-19 as much as the idea of quarantining my young children and myself at home in Beijing without any idea when schools would reopen.
What has been the reality for you and your family?
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How has your business been affected by the current situation?
What form of support have you received from the expat community here in Beijing for both your family’s and business’s well-being?
Do you believe the current situation will permanently change the face of business in Beijing? If so, why and how? If not, then why?
Moving forward, what are some of the plans you have set in place for your business to ensure it is not adversely affected by such an unexpected situation?
Has the current situation deterred you from continuing to be a part of the business landscape in Beijing or are you here to stay?
I have always believed in the long term. We are here to stay. Black
Sesame Kitchen has been in business since 2008, and while this is the
hardest crisis we have ever faced, we remain positive and confident.
Trying times have made the staff and me more committed to the business
and to reevaluate our long term goals for the better.
What advice would you give to other business owners in Beijing at this time?
How can other expat families show their support for expat business owners in Beijing?
Black Sesame Kitchen aims to begin in-home catering operations as soon as we are able to, perhaps sooner than re-opening our courtyard or new restaurant. Should you have any in-home catering needs, please contact us. Once we are able to start normal operations again, we expect we will continue community-building activities in our courtyard that have brought locals and expatriates together, like our Chinese holiday open house parties that have been so successful.
My years in Beijing have given me the strongest, most enduring friendships of my life. Beijing has a way of attracting adventurous, deep thinking, compassionate people of diverse backgrounds and interests. I expect that we will resume building that community once we return.
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Photos: Courtesy of Jen Lin-Liu, www.blacksesamekitchen.com
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