As I mentioned in a previous post, I am currently a freelance writer for a web development company. The company is growing and they hired a new guy to handle imaging for the websites they build.

In working there, I am learning a lot about family culture. One particular lesson occured under my nose and I almost missed it. A few of the fellows that work there decided to go across the street to grab lunch at a deli.  The deli is operated by a Korean family.  My co-workers often refer to the deli as “the Korean Cafe” and “The Koreans”. I never paid much attention to it until the “new guy” came back to the office after taking a trip to the deli. He made a interesting observation. “The place was nice and the food looked good, but its strange that they don’t sell Korean food there.”

While we might think twice about eating Asian food that’s not cooked byAsians unless there’s some special interest of the chef, why would we assume a restaurant owned by a member of a particular ethnic group would only serve food from their culture.

It actually reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where Jerry convinces Apoo to change his restaurant menu to Pakistani. Why would we assume that people would be so one-dimensional?

When I was working in education, there was also a deli in the buiding that was run by an Asian couple. It never occured to me or anyone else during the three years I worked there that the deli should have been serving Asian food.

Business offer their goods and services based on what the location will bear. It probably made more sense to the couple who owns the deli to offer a more basic deli menu to appeal to a corporate complex.

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