LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Too much good food is causing too much traffic in the Las Vegas Chinatown Plaza according to business owners, and community organizers are looking for solutions.
Maya Kwong, the owner of Xiao Long Dumplings, quickly readied passionfruit tea for customers fleeing the triple-degree heat while telling 8 News Now about the restaurant’s origin.
“This is an establishment that opened in the middle of the pandemic,” she said. “We took it as a challenge and have been blessed since day one.”
Kwong said the success of her business in Chinatown has allowed her to branch out into an all-you-can-eat restaurant in Chinatown along with a new location in the southwest valley.
“This year we are about to open an all-you-can-eat hot pot and Korean barbecue a little bit up the street in about three weeks,” Kwong said. “And as for Xiao Long Dumplings, we are going into the southwest, hopefully by January next year our Buffalo and 215 location will open.”
The original location is feeling the growing pains of the Chinatown Plaza, but Kwong said she still feels optimistic about her spot in the shopping center.
“We are considered one of the lucky ones since we do not have a lot of parking concerns,” she said. “But I would say most of the shopping centers in the Chinatown area would need some parking expansion.”
The parking plan
Standing beneath a parking lot tent Minjia Yan, consultant for the Spring Mountain Redevelopment Plan, pointed to all the photos of outreach her organization has completed so far.
“We had a kickoff event in May,” she said. “We have had community meetings and public outreach activities to hear feedback from community members of what they would like to see improved.”
According to the feedback Yan has received so far two concerns are leading in the area: parking and safety.
“[Businesses] have raised concerns about some of their employees couldn’t find a parking spot,” she said. “And that kind of discourages their customers to come to these areas as well.”
Yan has been popping up all over Chinatown to let business owners know planners are aware of the parking issue and that a solution is underway.
“In recent years, the community has been giving a lot of feedback,” she said. “Regarding parking, sidewalks, roads, landscaping, and physical improvement and also the public safety improvements that they would like to see in the community.”
Cultural events are also a priority according to the feedback Yan has received, and it’s a concept that’s rung true of other cultural shopping centers across the country.
“We definitely envision a plan that will encourage more cultural and community events to happen in this area,” Yan said. “And provide community spaces for all of the community members, and nonprofit organizations to have a chance to host their event here in Spring Mountain.”
