'Houston is one of the most diverse cities': OCA Greater Houston hosts second annual Asian Restaurant Weeks event

OCA Greater Houston is hosting its second annual Asian Restaurant Weeks (ARW) during Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month and may assist businesses to earn much-needed revenue during the pandemic, according to a press report.

Asian Restaurant Weeks provides an opportunity for Houstonians to sample Asian cuisine from fine restaurants along with smaller, family-owned establishments. The event originated as a method to assist low-income Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) in obtaining meals, according to Debbie Chen, engagement programs director for OCA Greater Houston.

"What we normally wanted to do was provide meals or meal kits to low-income APA families and seniors," Chen said. "With the pandemic, we collaborated with a lot of different organizations and the APA community and raised money to buy meals to one, support Asian American businesses that were really impacted, but also to provide meals specifically to frontline workers."

During this year's Asian Restaurant Weeks, donors of $20 or more will receive an ARW Passport with QR code discount deals to participating restaurants.

"This year we decided to start building a directory to list and promote different restaurants," Chen said. "We contacted the restaurants who were in position to be able to afford discount. This year we are doing a promo pass where there are 14 food businesses that are participating that are offering 10% off or other types of discounts."

The donations will be used to support locally owned Asian restaurants and distributors, generating much-needed income for these businesses still struggling after the year long pandemic. According to Chen, a portion of the donations will also be used to provide meals for low-income seniors.

"Houston is one of the most diverse cities. We always talk about how we're so diverse in people, but that also translates to how diverse we are in food," Chen said, "Within a few miles of each other, you can just get all kinds of food from all over the world. You don't really have to go far, there's so much nuance, so much diversity."

The OCA is a national civil rights organization based in Washington, D.C. that works to improve the social, political and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans.

According to the OCA Greater Houston website, this year's annual event will continue until Tuesday, June 15.

Restaurant owners interested in participating in Asian Restaurant Weeks can do so by completing an online form.