Chinatown grocery project stalls amid construction woes, deepening food desert

Jessica Wang’s plan to open Gu Grocery on North Broadway has been delayed by construction setbacks and repeated city inspections, leaving Chinatown’s elderly and low-income residents without a full-service market.

After the closure of Ai Hoa, G&G markets and the longtime Yue Wa shop, Chinatown has been without a comprehensive grocery for years. Jessica Wang hopes her Gu Grocery will fill that gap, offering fresh produce and ready-made meals, but the project is stalled by a series of construction mishaps, including missing architectural plans, a contractor’s departure, and delayed drywall work tied to ICE detentions. City inspectors have issued conflicting orders, prompting Wang to replace an expensive HVAC unit and repeatedly address new violations.

Despite exhausting a $200,000 county grant and a modest GoFundMe, the landlord Jason Fujimoto has agreed to a rent freeze since February. Community leaders like George Yu acknowledge the challenges of sustaining a market for the area’s older, poorer residents, while volunteers such as librarian Lynn Nguyen continue door-to-door food deliveries. The delay underscores the broader issue of food access for Chinatown’s aging, low-income population.