Chinese Groceries on Albert Street
Food for the people
Along with Chinese Laundries, Grocery stores were some of the first Chinese owned businesses established in Ottawa. In 1914, there were three Grocery stores set up in Chinatown catering to the local Chinese community. These stores were often simply the fronts of houses that were built in the typical A-Frame style found in Ottawa during these decades, and the family owners often lived on the 2nd floor, or in the back rooms of the shop.
Large imports of Chinese goods weren’t available in Ottawa due to the small size of the community, so grocers ordered their goods from Montreal, which had a much larger Chinatown by the 1910s. As many Chinese in Ottawa were working in Laundromats during this early period, the grocers were also responsible for delivering food to their customers.
For Sue Wong, the owner of Yick Lung Groceries Co., groceries was an entire family business. Every Wong child was expected to deliver groceries to their customers in Ottawa and the surrounding area. When they grew up, they could use the truck purchased to deliver groceries to those Chinese customers living farther out in Smith Falls or Perth. This truck would be used to bring the Chinese Aces hockey team to and from their games.
As the years progressed and demand for Chinese food grew amongst the Caucasian Ottawa population, Chinese groceries began selling to the increasingly popular Chinese-cuisine restaurants. Wing On & Co., which had been run by the Hum family on 247 Albert Street for over 3 decades, was in the 1950s found above the popular restaurant, Ding Ho, making this business collaboration particularly effective.
A Place for women?
While Social Clubs were popular amongst the male workers in Ottawa, the small number of women who were able to immigrate to Canada and meet their husbands could often be found in the kitchens in the back of the grocery stores. Here, the women could be found making dumplings, talking and conducting business. Men were also known to sit down for a smoke and chat in a more familial atmosphere
