In One Of Chinatown's Oldest Landmarks, A New Generation Readies For Lunar New Year
Mei Lum put off grad school to take over a porcelain shop in New York City that's been in her family for five generations. But Lum wonders, how can she lay new roots without eroding what's there?
On a cold evening in Manhattan's Chinatown, Mei Lum sits at the front counter of her family's century-old store. She's closed the porcelain shop for the night, and is tapping away on her laptop, tying up loose ends for the multi-day Lunar New Year celebrations she's organizing for both her family and the store.
Lum, 27, can already picture the scenes that will unfold. Just as they have every year for decades, family and friends will gather in Wing on Wo & Co. tonight for an elaborate dinner.
And tomorrow, the first, that Lum makes with her grandmother, Nancy Seid, special for the holiday.
