A gem in Soho
Pearl River celebrates the Lunar New Year
BY TEQUILA MINSKY
How long must a shop
be around to be a New
York institution? Twenty
years? Forty? Pearl River Mart
boasts a legacy of 50 years in
the greater Chinatown area, an
iconic Chinese emporium that is
a New York institution.
Originally opened by overseas
Chinese men and women
as a small “friendship” store
on Catherine Street, later moving
to Elizabeth Street and
then to Broadway in Soho, the
store introduced tasty foods
and beautiful Chinese goods
to Americans while providing
Chinese immigrants items
from home and a sense of community.
Relocations in this
half-century include Tribeca
and Soho.
During these last fi ve years,
in true New York fashion, the
business has been subject to real
estate and landlord pressures.
But, its new 452 Broadway location—
the sixth address since
opening in 1971 — is testament
to the resilience of this family-run
immigrant-begun business.
About fi ve years ago, Joanne
Kwong left her attorney job at
Barnard College, to take over the
business with her in-laws where
she works with them hip-to-hip
LOCAL NEWS
Joanne Kwong runs Pearl River Mart in Soho
— they’re still part of the operation
six days a week. Daughter-inlaw
of the original owners, she’s
the President and second-generation
owner of Pearl River.
As to the latest venue, “It has
good energy in here,” says Kwong,
of the bright space opened in May
2021, on Broadway between
Grand and Howard. “It’s only a
few blocks from Chinatown, the
store’s ancestral home.”
“We also have a small gallery,”
she gesticulates toward the rear of
the shop. “It’s an Asian-American
art gallery.” Donating the space to
the community to help promote
PHOTOS BY TEQUILA MINSKY
emerging artists, she continues,
“It’s so hard for artists of color
to fi nd exhibition space that they
don’t have to pay for.” Currently,
Korean artist Nancy Pappas is exhibiting
paintings and drawings.
Early evening of the fi rst day
of Lunar New Year, Pearl River
celebrates with lion dancers on
the sidewalk. Three red and yellow
Chinese lions, hoisted on
poles attract a crowd jamming
the sidewalk in front of the
Broadway shop.
The Wan Chi Ming Lion Dance
Troupe, founded in 1973, is an
example of the generations continuing.
“Master Wan was a good
friend of Mr. Chen, my father-inlaw.
His son Warren now leads
the troupe and is a good friend
of mine,” Kwong relates. “We
would love for these traditions to
continue for the next 50 years.”
“Wan Chi Ming is known for
getting vertical,” Kwong also explains.
“You noticed they were
high up in the air. They’re known
for getting up into the sky.”
The troupe’s lions danced for
the cluster of observers and then,
as is traditional, the lion dancers
entered into the store, trailed by
the sidewalk celebrants.
Kwong notes that if you
missed any of the lion dances,
Super Saturday—Feb. 12 is
when all the teams come out
in Chinatown.
How is the store celebrating
New Years? Obviously, they’re
selling loads of red items for home
decoration and for this Year of
the Tiger, tiger-themed items like
huge decorative fans and panels
or even baby slippers with
tiger images.
“It’s been lovely to greet people
we haven’t seen in a while who
are coming to prepare for their
celebrations,” Kwong says.
IHOP opens Flip’d fast-casual in Flatiron District
BY MYRIAN GARCIA
Flip’d by IHOP, a new fastcasual
restaurant, is now
open in the Flatiron District
at 110 E 23rd St. — bringing
unique convenient meals
made with fresh ingredients
that, as they claim, “don’t taste
like compromise.”
From the mind of IHOP, this
new restaurant takes IHOPinspired
favorite dishes and
“fl ips” them into a new way of
enjoying such meals. At Flip’d,
they serve “breakfast, lunchfast
and dinnerfast,” which
implies that eating breakfast
foods should not be limited to
the morning.
On their current menu,
Flip’d serves different combinations
of sandwiches, burritos
and bowls.
A popular order at Flip’d is
the pancake bowls, which are
“made with IHOP’s signature
pancakes and topped with fruit,
chocolate chips and more.”
While continuing to provide
tables to sit in and enjoy the
food, Flip’d by IHOP intends
to be a fast-casual version
of the table service house of
pancakes. Guests are invited
to easily order their meals via
digital kiosk, at the counter or
online for pick up or delivery.
This establishment solves
the consumer issue of being
in a hurry while also craving
the good food IHOP provides.
Flip’d promises that “you can
always get something fl at-out
incredible, even if your schedule
is fl at-out bonkers.”
The Manhattan location of
Flip’d by IHOP is open from
7 a.m. to 10 p.m. However,
IHOP President Jay Johns plans
to further make these meals accessible
to all by making some
locations 24 hours.
“Sometimes you want to
take your family to an IHOP
for a really fun Sunday morning
breakfast or brunch, and
we’re still there for that,” Johns
told Business Insider. “But
sometimes you don’t have time
for a sit-down meal. You want
straight IHOP-style food that
they’re familiar with, but they
want it again on their own
terms. I needed to go, I need
it delivered. I need it the way I
need it.”
DIANE BONDAREFF/AP IMAGES FOR IHOP
fl ip’d by IHOP on East 23rd Street in Flatiron
8 February 10, 2022 Schneps Media