Business Spotlight: Heng Yun Groceries

Yiyan Zhou, manager of Heng Yun Groceries

Heng Yun Groceries
329 Grand St.
(212) 431-9520

Welcome to Chinatown is excited to spotlight Longevity Fund recipient Heng Yun Groceries, a small convenience store that sells Chinese and American grocery items and household goods. During her 10+ years of working at the store, manager Yiyan Zhou has developed close relationships with many repeat customers who live in Chinatown. Though the pandemic has been tough on the business, she maintains a positive attitude and lives by her motto, “Be satisfied and be happy.”

Tell us about your business. 

I have been the manager of Heng Yun for over 10 years now. The store was opened by one of my distant relatives over 20 years ago. We sell typical convenience store items such as snacks, drinks, beer, condiments, lifestyle products, garbage bags, lottery tickets, etc. We also sell some Chinese products and hardware. Most customers are people who live or work in Chinatown. Since COVID, there have not been as many workers in Chinatown, so our business has taken a hit.

Could you please tell us about your background?

In 2003, I emigrated from the Fuzhou province of China, where I worked as a salesperson for women’s hair care products. After coming to New York, I worked at a restaurant for 2 -3 years before working at another convenience store on East Broadway for a few years. I got married and had children in the US and also helped my mom immigrate here. My father passed away a while ago, so being closer to my mom is very nice.

How have you been faring with the impact of COVID?

We shut down for two and a half months because we weren’t getting enough foot traffic to justify keeping the lights on. At the onset of the pandemic, people were only buying cleaning items and toilet paper, which were in such high demand that we couldn’t even get them from our wholesale suppliers. Even after the demand died down a bit, wholesale prices were so high that we couldn’t make a profit from these items.

Sales of our grocery items have fallen to about a third of what they were before the pandemic. We had to let go of one employee as a result. Interestingly though, lottery ticket sales have gone up. Unfortunately, we don’t make much money on lottery tickets.

To this day, it’s still very difficult for us. We’ve had to reduce our hours from 8 am-10 pm to 9 am–6 pm. One of the reasons we decided to reduce our hours is because Chinatown has been getting more dangerous since the pandemic started. There are more thefts lately, so we’re scared of staying open late at night.

“To this day, it’s still very difficult for us.”

How has Welcome to Chinatown (WtC) helped your business?

When someone first came to our store and told us about Welcome to Chinatown, we didn’t believe them. We thought, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” However, the second time someone came over to tell us about it, we decided to take a chance and apply for the Longevity Fund. We never thought we would get the grant but are very appreciative that we were chosen.

We’ve been using the grant to pay rent and salaries and have also applied for PPP loans. We’re hoping to use the grant money and PPP loans to get some new products so that we can attract some new customers.

“All the old customers in the neighborhood know me — they are like family. ”

What some interesting facts that people may not know about Heng Yun?

All the old customers in the neighborhood know me — they are like family. During this past Chinese New Year, some non-Asians gave me a red envelope. I was really touched that non-Asians had remembered Chinese New Year — I didn’t care about how much money was in there. This made me really happy.

Another fun fact: The previous manager sold a lottery ticket to someone who won $1 million!

Any advice you’d like to give to others who are struggling during COVID?

My life motto is, “Be satisfied and be happy.” Be satisfied with what you have and be happy with your life. Even though we are going through a hard time, at least the store is alive. Your health and life are the most important. Don’t ask for too much. We’re just lucky to be alive.

Chinatown small businesses like Heng Yun Groceries are what makes the spirit of our neighborhood. We need your support to keep that spirit alive. Please consider donating to The Longevity Fund, our small business relief fund, or help us spread the word of what’s at stake. Together, we can preserve Chinatown businesses and help keep Chinatown open for business. 

Photo Credit: Fuxuan Xin