AANHPI Heritage Month: Asian restaurants make up 12% of all restaurants

During the height of the pandemic, a sign began showing up at the anti-Asian hate demonstrations around the country. The sign read, "Love Our People Like You Love Our Food." Although, the sign reads humorously, but there is truth in the message.

The ubiquitous Chinese restaurant can be found in 70% of US counties. Japanese and Thai restaurants are not far behind, according to a numbers crunch by the Pew Research Center released Tuesday, May 23.

In fact, some 12% of all restaurants in the United States serve Asian food,even though only 7% of the US population is Asian American.

As Padma Lakshmi points out in her Taste the Nation food series on Hulu, what we call "American" food is really a collection of dishes immigrants bring with them and adopted -- not necessarily adapted -- as "American." Today, teriyaki steak and the egg roll are as American as, well, apple pie, which was originated in England.

Food often serves as the door fo another culture for most non-Asian Americans.

From the Panda Express franchises in the malls to the mom-and-pops in Chinatown, to the lonely truck stops on a stretch of highway, Chinese establishments are by far the most common type of Asian restaurant in the US. Nearly four-in-ten Asian restaurants (39%) serve Chinese food, which has a long history in the U.S. By comparison, Chinese Americans account for about a quarter of Asians living in the U.S. (24%).

By far, Chinese restaurants are the most numerous Asian restaurants in the US

Japanese and Thai food has spread widely, despite these groups’ relatively small shares of the US population. The first sushi restaurant in the U.S. opened just over 50 years ago, but today sushi is widely available from coast to coast. Restaurants that serve Japanese food account for 28% of Asian restaurants in the U.S., making it the second-most common Asian cuisine. Japanese Americans, by comparison, are the sixth-largest Asian origin group in the country, comprising 7% of the U.S. Asian population.

Similarly, Thai establishments make up 11% of all Asian restaurants – the third-most common cuisine behind Chinese and Japanese food – while just 2% of Asian Americans are Thai. The Thai government has historically supported efforts to increase the number of Thai restaurants around the world as a form of diplomacy.

Indian and Filipino establishments account for a relatively small share of Asian restaurants. Indian and Filipino restaurants account for 7% and 1% of all Asian restaurants in the U.S., respectively – even though Indian and Filipino Americans account for nearly 40% of Asians in the U.S. combined.

The study, based on an analysis of about 787,000 restaurants across the U.S. using point-of-interest data from SafeGraph, also finds that:

• Around three-quarters of all counties in the U.S. (73%) have at least one Asian restaurant of any kind.

• Like the Asian American population, Asian restaurants in the US are heavily concentrated in a few states. Just under half – 45% – of all Asian restaurants are located in California, New York, Texas, New Jersey and Washington.

• Chinese restaurants are found in every state and in 70% of all US counties. Additionally, nearly four-in-ten Asian restaurants (39%) serve Chinese food, making it by far the most common type of Asian restaurant in the US.

• Around three-quarters of all counties in the U.S. (73%) have at least one Asian restaurant of any kind. And in eight counties with at least 15 restaurants of any type, Asian restaurants make up at least a quarter of all food establishments. Half of those counties are in California.

FYI: For the complete analysis, click here.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.