Keeping Jackson Heights in High Spirits
By Priscilla Chan and Olivia Lu
A Chinese couple have run a liquor store here for more than 30 years.
JACKSON HEIGHTS — Lines of cars clog the streets of this diverse neighborhood, blasting music that can barely be heard above the metallic shriek of the train arriving every eight minutes. Chattering on the phone in Spanish or discussing business, the residents pass through Diversity Plaza everyday, going about their lives in the bustling neighborhood.
The plaza is the heart and cultural cornerstone of Jackson Heights, home to countless shops and businesses. Among them is a small store called Taishin Liquor that is wedged between cookie-cutter apartment building complexes. It is at first unassuming and humble next to its larger neighbors, but inside shelves are decked from top to bottom with colorful bottles of all shapes and sizes, all the way from rows of tequila to tall bottles of French wine.
Thirty six years ago, when Susan and her husband opened up Taishin Liquor Co., Jackson Heights was the only area where they could afford the rent. During that time, the neighborhood was a dangerous place with a high crime rate. Susan, 70, who moved to the United States from mainland China, previously worked as a nurse. But she quit because she found nursing to be stressful, and selling liquor is relatively “easy money.”
At first, Taishin Liquor did not draw many customers, since the store was surrounded by successful businesses, including many liquor stores. Even worse, the leading liquor companies maintained a strict regulation on liquor distribution, which made the liquor and alcohol business immensely hard to break into.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 50 percent of small businesses fail in their first five years due to factors such as cash flow problems, lack of a market and being out outmatched by competitors. But as other liquor stores eventually closed, Taishin Liquor stood the test of time.
While the business persevered over the years, it gathered more and more customers, most of them loyal to the store. Susan herself claimed that everyone knew Taishin Liquor, since the service was great and the store itself was constant and familiar.
“I will buy this store and make Susan work for me if I win the lottery,” joked a supportive customer who purchases from the store on a regular basis. “Susan is a very charming and funny person to talk to,” another returning customer described. “The reason I come back and only buy alcohol in her store is definitely because of her extraordinary service.”
Susan is proud of her service and stable relationship with her customers and has every right to be. She enjoys working everyday, making jokes with customers and occasionally meeting new people. “Yes, yes,” she nods. “We made a lot of money. But good money.”
But she faced a lot of challenges over the years as well. Eleven years ago, her store had been robbed at gunpoint on New Year’s Eve. But luckily, that was the first and only time she had encountered such a terrible thing.
The crime rate in Jackson Heights has dropped to 63 percent in the past 10 years. Susan’s small business is also keeping up in a stable and booming state. She is always delightful and her affable personality blows away whatever bad mood her customers are in, making this liquor store a lovely and peaceful little shop.
