Entrepreneur Spotlight: Ruoyi Jiang of Chop Suey Club

This month, we’re celebrating our generation’s Asian American entrepreneurs who are shaping the future of NYC. Ruoyi Jiang is the founder and creative director of Chop Suey Club, a boutique in the LES that sells products from Asian designers around the world.

What is your background, and the inspiration behind your business?

I was born and raised in Beijing, China, I moved to New York for college when I was 19 and stayed here ever since. I've been living in New York for 12 years now. I started Chop Suey Club because I was looking to buy clothing and home design goods from Chinese designers, but couldn't really find any in New York or in the US at that time. Even in China, contemporary Chinese design was just starting so there wasn't that much visibility overall. I thought perhaps I could start a store to showcase a few that I found interesting, it would be interesting to see the US market's reaction to this idea, and also serve as an archive to witness the growth of Chinese design. I worked in various sectors of fashion, design, art and filmmaking before but never in retail, so I had a more raw and experimental approach to it. Now we have evolved into an Asian lifestyle boutique with strong community support. Over the past 6 years we have been in business, both the store and Chinese design in general have grown so much, it's a quite exhilarating experience.

What is the significance of being an Asian founder in your industry?

Spring Break House Party in April 2022

To be honest, coming from Asia you don't think about what's so special about being an Asian entrepreneur because everyone is Asian there! I think for what we are doing, coming from a Chinese background really helps to establish an authenticity, and I was able to offer my perspective on an inter-cultural level. There are many nuances in Chinese culture that would be difficult for anyone outside of this culture to decipher. Originally I only focused on design and culture in the Chinese language environment, now it seems very clear to me how Chinese culture runs through the veins of the entire Asian-diaspora, and its ability to adapt and morph regionally across the globe is what ties all the Asians together. It took me some time to realize the power of representation and visibility on an international stage, how that could be an inspiration for many second/third/fourth generation Asians to feel seen and be proud.

Why are you proud of the Asian (American) community?

I am proud of our Asian (American) community because we play significant roles in economic and cultural developments everywhere we go. If you look into every industry and impactful businesses, you'll find so many key decision makers of Asian heritage. Perhaps it's the traditional teaching of being humble that made us more or less "invisible", but I see them, and I see what impacts they have brought to the world. "Resilience" means differently to our parents than to our generation, to see young Asian kids embracing their heritage in different cultural environments in their own fashion brings pride, it's a different form of resilience we are experiencing now.

What’s your favorite place to go in Chinatown?

Other than our store? Lol. TOO MANY! Recently I've been obsessed with August Gatherings, dare I say it's the best Chinese restaurant in Chinatown? Going into the old mom&pop stores is my favorite thing to do, at least before COVID I would go explore every week. Finding treasures from these shops gave birth to our "Dollar $tore" section, our customers love the fun knick-knacks we found and we would encourage them to go explore themselves. And also the kitchen supply stores!!!

Moon Festival in 2020

What is your personal connection to Chinatown?

Chinatown is perhaps the closest thing I have to home, so I love our Chinatowns with an eternal passion. Seeing how hardworking all the businesses are really gives me the push that I need. As an immigrant, I see Chinatown being an important source for people to get affordable food and living supplies in the city, I see how every tourist who visits wants to see Chinatown. The Manhattan Chinatown has such a significance in New York's history and economy, it's unimaginable and unforgivable to see it disappear. Without Chinatown, New York will never be New York again.

What are some of your favorite ways to give back to the NYC community?

At the beginning we hosted events to bring people to our store, later on our events became so popular that we had to find bigger spaces to host them offsite. We insisted on having events in Chinatown and its vicinity, to work with as many local businesses and suppliers as possible because that's the whole point of it - we want to show people ways to explore this neighborhood, to inspire love and ties. There are so many people who want to give back to Chinatown and be a part of it, but they don't know how. I'd like to think that we are giving back by bringing the community together and strengthening the ties with the neighborhood and with each other. This has been my favorite way to give back.