Asian Restaurants See a Decline in Business as Tourism Tapers

Three new presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 were reported in Clark County and Asian restaurants in particular are feeling the impact.

So far, the Southern Nevada Health District reports five people who tested a presumptive positive for COVID-19 in Clark Country, with three new cases reported on March 11. One of the new cases involves a woman in her 40s from New York who attended the Women of Power Summit at the Mirage March 5-8. In addition, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 70s who both came in contact with a previously reported case are both isolated in their homes.

In a new survey with about 40 members of the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce, restaurants report business falling between 40 percent and 60 percent due to coronavirus outbreak fears. Sonny Vinuya, the president of the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce, tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal that some restaurants started laying off staff, and others are considering closing.

Henda Chow, who owns Harbor Palace Seafood Restaurant in Chinatown Plaza, tells the paper that business declined 60 percent to 70 percent since the beginning of February, and on Wednesday, he laid off six people.

Borman Yang, who owns Yi Mei Champion Taiwan Deli, tells 8 News Now that convention catering and Asian tourism declined dramatically in recent weeks.

He tells Fox 5 that typically, he would see 500 to 600 diners on a typical March day, but only a few dozen visited in recent days. He estimates that 95 percent of business from tourism disappeared.

Other restaurants, such as Shiraz, implemented an in-house delivery service due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus. Executive chef Jainine Jaffer now offers her Halal-Indian and Mediterranean dishes delivered from the kitchen to doorstep. Delivery is available for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 10 p.m.

The International Pizza Expo still plans on 8,000 attendees March 31-April 2 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and the Nightclub & Bar Show with about 39,000 attendees still takes place March 30-April 1 at the convention center.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal keeps a list of canceled events.

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