Business Spotlight: The ABC Digest
Ashley, Ryan, and Jeff; Photo by Alice Park
The ABC Digest
theabcdigest.com
Meet Ashley and Jeff of The ABC Digest, which is celebrating the world’s flavors, from A to Z!
Ashley and Jeff created The ABC Digest book collection to get kids (and grownups!) excited about celebrating the world’s cultures and foods. They noticed that on bookshelves, there were no ABC books featuring the foods they grew up loving. Thus, The ABC Digest was born in their Brooklyn apartment, with Jeff drawing, Ashley writing, and their son Ryan modeling. Their first book, Tasting Chinatown, discovers the diverse, vibrant flavors of Chinatown.
The ABC Digest was a vendor at Welcome to Chinatown’s Lunar New Year Fair.
Give us a brief background of who you are and what your business is!
The ABC Digest: Celebrating the world’s cultures…from A to Z
👋 We’re Ashley and Jeff. Two ABCs—American Born Chinese—who fell in love with food…and each other. We created The ABC Digest book collection to get kids (and grownups!) excited about celebrating the world’s cultures and foods. Designed from scratch and infused with our own flair, you won’t find any books like these out there.
We’re as family business as it gets. Jeff draws, Ashley writes, Baby Ryan models. We even enlisted Mom to haul books (they came when we were 9 months preggers!) and persuaded our sister to spend hours crocheting giant foodie squishies. We still pack each book by hand!
“With The ABC Digest, we’re trying to change this narrative. So kids of all heritages feel proud of what’s in their lunchbox…and the cultures that shape who they are.”
How did you start your business, and what inspired/inspires you?
We noticed a gap on bookshelves: no ABC books featuring the foods *we* grew up loving. So, we decided to do something about it: Jeff with the illustrations, Ashley with the fun facts! We cooked up The ABC Digest in our Brooklyn apartment and enlisted a special group of trusted toddler testers to help us publish our first book, Tasting Chinatown!
We get SO much joy from seeing kids (like ours!) gravitate to the vibrant, bold colors in Tasting Chinatown, and leave inspired to try new foods.
It’s also been incredibly fulfilling to hear so many of you say, “I wish I had this book growing up.”
How does your identity as an Asian American influence your work?
When everyone else was chomping down on PB&Js, I was reluctantly twisting open my Sanrio Thermos, proactively trying to figure out how to avoid commentary from my fellow fifth grade classmates about my overflowing leftovers. With The ABC Digest, we’re trying to change this narrative. So kids of all heritages feel proud of what’s in their lunchbox…and the cultures that shape who they are.
“So when the pandemic swept the color from Chinatown, we knew we had to do our part to ensure the vibrancy of Chinatown shines bright for generations to come.”
In our quest to share more about *our* culture with the world, we’ve serendipitously gifted ourselves an even stronger bond with the culture and community that’s shaped us. We’ve had incredible, authentic conversations with phenomenal folks in the community: founders, restaurateurs, chefs, fellow authors, changemakers. And of course, we’ve learned a ton about our favorite foods! And for that, we’re forever grateful.
Why is it important for you as an AAPI vendor to be involved in the Chinatown community? (alt: Why is Chinatown important to you as an AAPI vendor?)
Chinatown is home. With Grand and Mott Streets as his backyard, Jeff’s fondest memories include baos, dim sum, and celebratory family memories made ‘round the round tables at Harmony Palace.
So when the pandemic swept the color from Chinatown, we knew we had to do our part to ensure the vibrancy of Chinatown shines bright for generations to come. So our son can bring his children, and so his grandchildren have stories of light, laughter, and yummy dim sum to pass on and on.
It’s a great time to be a part of this community, with groups like Welcome to Chinatown at the helm, bridging the old and new, and celebrating the fusion of legacy and innovation, to preserve this special place we call home.
What small business in Chinatown inspires you, and why?
Yu and Me Books continues to inspire us. Owner Lucy Yu sells stories: those that come to life between book pages, and those that inspire, connect, teach, and grow–through authentic conversations made in the open, safe space she’s created for the community.
Yu and Me Books reminds us that with passion, grit, and the confidence to trust in yourself (even if that means quitting your engineering job to put down a deposit for a storefront!), you can design the career of your dreams.
She bet on us (as our first stockist!) and she bet on herself. And thanks to leaders like Lucy, our community is forever shaped for the better.
What’s your favorite item that you sell/make?
Our first book! In The ABC Digest: Tasting Chinatown, discover the diverse, vibrant flavors of Chinatown—from A to Z. Packed with color, fun facts, and rollicking rhymes, this book is a *must* for kids (and grownups!) hungry for a more flavorful take on the ABCs.
What's the best way to stay in touch/support your work?
Buy our book, Tasting Chinatown! (www.theabcdigest.com) It’s the perfect gift for little foodies: yourself, your favorite kid(s), your friends. Stock up and never fret over what gift to bring to that baby shower! Reach out if we can help with a discounted bulk order for companies and schools looking for great employee gifts, speaking engagements, and/or educational content.
We’re working on a bunch of yummy stuff, so stay tuned by following us on Instagram (@theabcdigest)
What are your go-to Chinatown spots? Must buy items from those places?
We’re so glad you asked! We’ve compiled some of our favorite spots in a handy dandy Little Guide to Manhattan’s Chinatown, perfect for little foodie families. Find it on our website: www.theabcdigest.com
If you’d like to support The ABC Digest, visit theabcdigest.com.
