How it started
In March of 2020, a group of UT Arlington alumni got together on a Zoom call during the initial lock-down to talk about everything that was happening and how the world as it seems has turned upside down. One of the topics that we discussed was the xenophobic sentiments towards Asians that arose at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its effect on Asian restaurants. Ideas started flowing about how we can all help our community. The next morning, we started the Facebook group “Asian Grub in DFDUB.” Little did we know that this was the beginning of something magical.
The Power of Social Media
When Asian Grub in DFDUB first launched, we accumulated over 15,000 members within the first month. With the new Facebook group, we were able to provide business owners a new tool to promote their business. When businesses were suffering, the city came together to support them in every way possible, with some willing to drive over an hour just to try their food. With healthcare workers at the front-line, the group was able to connect restaurant owners to healthcare workers to donate meals to hospital staff and other frontliners. Today, we have over 40,000 Members and growing!
Restaurants Adapting to Change
With a shift from customers dining-in their restaurants to all of their food being packaged for take-out, everyone had to adapt to this new change. For the older Asian generation, this was not an easy task. Can you imagine your grandparents signing up for a Facebook account? For a few long-standing restaurants, learning how to promote their restaurant on social media during the ongoing pandemic was essential. Business owners had to transition to take-out, provide curbside pick-up, and explore third-party delivery options.
We Survived!
For the last year, we watched the entire DFW metroplex come together to support one another. We are proud to say that over 80% of the Asian restaurants were able to make it through the pandemic. With the new vaccine in place, we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
