2024 AAPISTRONG Restaurant Fund Winners
Grubhub and National ACE announce three finalists who were awarded $25,000 grants each live on-stage at the #AAPISTRONG Annual Conference.
With the industry facing ongoing economic challenges, this funding will allow AAPI restaurateurs to take their business to the next level through development ideas such as infrastructure improvements, e-commerce and technology, employee benefits, and operations streamlining. Ultimately, this will help AAPI entrepreneurs to scale their businesses, secure their futures, and also give back to the life of their neighborhoods by fostering safe and enjoyable places to gather.
Congratulations to our Grand Prize Winners
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Native Fields
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Nom Wah Nolita
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Pho Loan
Nom Wah Nolita
Zhiyu Lai
Zhiyu Lai is a second-generation Chinese American who left a corporate IT job seven years ago to chase a dream of entrepreneurship alongside his best friend of over two decades. Both Zhiyu and his friend grew up in New York, raised by immigrant parents. Zhiyu is a proud New Yorker who continues to live in the city with his wife, two daughters, and dog.
In 2016, Zhiyu and his best friend opened Nom Wah Nolita as a way to blend their deep connection to their parents' Cantonese culture with their American, and specifically New York, identity. Embracing a no-frills approach, they aimed to create a place that served straightforward, high-quality food reflecting their personal tastes and experiences, shaped by years in the corporate world.