American supermarket blasted for opening ‘Yellow Fever’ restaurant

“Not only is it racist, but I’m not likely to buy food named after a disease”

An American supermarket chain is facing a backlash on Twitter after announcing a restaurant called Yellow Fever has opened at its new location in Long Beach, California on Wednesday.

On April 26, Whole Foods tweeted that the Asian-inspired eatery was now part of its new 365 store selling “fresh, customized” rice bowls.

The term ‘yellow fever’ is more commonly known as a mosquito-borne virus that causes severe liver disease and jaundice. It’s also a slang for someone, particularly men, with a sexual fetish for people of Asian descent. Now, it’s the name of an Asian restaurant.

Netizens seized upon the tweet immediately, calling it “racist,” “toxic,” and “stomach turning.”

“It’s stunning in its awfulness,” wrote user Sarah Storm. “Not only is it racist, but I’m not likely to buy food named after a disease.” tweeted Docrailgun.

Our personal favorite came from Chris Connolly: “Why would you call it that? Was MalariaMart taken? What about the Dysentry Dome? Listeria Lunchbowl? Salmonella Snacks?”

But the restaurant isn’t owned by Whole Foods. In fact, it’s run by Kelly Kim, a Korean-American who chose the name because it’s “shocking.”

“One night, we just said ‘Yellow Fever!’ and it worked,” she told the website Nextshark. “It’s tongue-in-cheek, kind of shocking, and it’s not exclusive — you can fit all Asian cultures under one roof with a name like this. We just decided to go for it.”

Yellow Fever’s menu mainly consists of rice bowls that you can customize with different ingredients and flavors, all with an Asian twist. There’s the Shanghai, for example, with braised pork belly, sauteed onions, boy choy, asian slaw, shiso leaves, and kung pao sauce, or the Seoul with grilled flat iron steak, asian slaw, mushrooms, kale, fried egg, and gochujang.

According to Kim, her restaurant has been a success, with two outlets in Venice Beach, California, and now the latest one in Long Beach.

And she’s not afraid of the controversy: “I don’t think we’re a safe brand,” Kim said. “One of our taglines is ‘be yellow.’ This is because we want people to be comfortable in their own skin.”