How Asian American spaces are keeping our community alive
Asian American-friendly nightlife and culinary venues are more than just businesses, they're a lifeline for belonging
Novo Asian Food Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, hosted a Lunar New Year celebration for the Asian American community.
Hannah Colen
Words by Pooja Shah
When immigrants leave their homeland, they leave behind more than just a place, but a sense of belonging and communal connections that have shaped their identity. I often hear stories from my parents, who migrated out of India to New York, about how they wish they could eat at their local family-owned restaurant, shop in the bazaars, or catch the last concert featuring their favorite 70s tunes. Listening to them reminisce confirms how food and music serve as a powerful connector to heritage. For many cultures, but certainly for Asian Americans, creating dedicated spaces here in the States isn't just about nostalgia, but cultural survival, identity formation and community building.
In her podcast Self Evident: Asian America’s Stories, community producer and DJ Rochelle Kwan (YiuYiu) observes how music functions as a cultural artifact that bridges immigrants to their roots and to each other. Similarly, in the powerful book Crying in H Mart, writer Michelle Zauner uses food as a metaphor to cope with grief and to connect to her Korean roots after her mother’s death. The growing emergence of Asian American-friendly nightlife and culinary venues across the United States represents more than a trend, but a lifeline for belonging. Some may say these platforms are temporary sanctuaries that help people transition from their homeland to their new lands. As a result, these spaces foster the flourishing of Asian American arts, music, and collective identity that honor heritage, while introducing the culture to new masses. Below are a sampling of venues across the country that bring a slice of Asia to North America.
The Red Pavilion (New York)
In the heart of Bushwick, New York, The Red Pavilion is a sanctuary of Asian American cultural expression, where every night is a celebration of creativity, resilience, and radical joy. Founded by architect Shien Lee in 2023 as a direct response to escalating anti-AA+PI violence, the venue transforms trauma into triumph. This neo-noir club showcases a dynamic mix of performing artists and musicians across a wide range of themes and genres—including Shanghai jazz from the 1930s-1940s and Hong Kong pop from the 1950s-1970s (brought to life every Friday by the in-house band), as well as contemporary sounds from local indie artists, K-Pop, burlesque and immersive shibari performances. Plus, all programming is complemented by an Asian herbal-inspired bar, with seasonal rotating cocktails, mocktails and TCM (traditional chinese medicine) herbal shots. Besides being a space that hosts musical performances, The Red Pavillion also serves as a wedding venue that has held numerous Asian weddings that replicates the authentic feelings of home that many couples are craving.
“The world of AA+PI music and entertainment has been going through a real renaissance, especially after the tough times during COVID, when anti-Asian hate crimes were on the rise,” Lee explains. “There’s been this renewed drive within the community to amplify our voices and take up space. And in a lot of ways, that energy has helped push back against fear and break down old stereotypes.”
Having just celebrated its two-year anniversary, the venue strives to be a platform that is intergenerational and members from all walks of life can bond over a shared experience of musical programming and drinks. For an up-to-date schedule of upcoming events, visit their homepage here.
Viridian (Oakland, California)
Viridian, in Oakland, California, launched in 2020, just six weeks before the pandemic started. For co-founder and bar director William Tsui, the bar served as an economic ecosystem that deliberately channels resources back into the local AA+PI community, especially in the early days of COVID. “Viridian started as an idea and a pop-up in 2014 when I was a bartender. I drew heavily from the nostalgia of growing up Asian American in the Bay Area,” he says. “My mother was a social worker in Oakland's Chinatown for over 20 years and I would often roam the streets there in my youth looking for connections.”
Having grown up in the Bay Area, the bar was the first that was explicitly Asian American, and a place to celebrate and connect over shared experiences and upbringings. A deeper look into their beverage program proves how Southeast Asian and Indian flavors remain integral to the bar’s mission. For instance, their red bean cocktail utilizes a Vietnamese egg cream-style foam and other key ingredients, and the interior decor is sourced from the local Chinatown. During their annual Red Envelope celebration, which coincides with the bar’s anniversary and is their Lunar New Year and Chinese New Year celebration, Tsui intentionally sources from local Asian American vendors like Sasha House, Keilun Martial Arts, and Merrit Ceramics. As such, Viridian creates an economic microcosm that amplifies Asian American entrepreneurial voices, supports emerging artists, and builds generational wealth through intentional community investment.
Novo Asian Food Hall (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Novo Asian Food Hall hosts everything from book swaps to live tuna butchering spectacles.
Hannah Colen
In the heart of Pittsburgh, Novo Asian Food Hall is a dining destination that prioritizes cultural connection and family legacy through food. Imagine a space where babies in strollers share tables with grandparents, where uncles and aunties chat with chefs across seven diverse culinary stations, and create a living, breathing portrait of the Asian American community. With a kaleidoscope of cuisines spanning Vietnamese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Filipino, Malaysian, and Korean traditions, Novo shatters the conventional restaurant model, according to Matthew Zelinsky, the hall’s director of operations. Each food stall, run by first- or second-generation Asian American entrepreneurs, represents a personal narrative of cultural preservation and culinary innovation.
Beyond just serving food, Novo has become a pivotal part of the community that hosts everything from book swaps to live tuna butchering spectacles that draw hundreds. “I think because we’re lucky enough to be the new home to a few legacy restaurants, we’ve been embraced by the folks who might not otherwise have given us a shot,” general manager Kaitlin Fellers adds. “It’s an extreme privilege to have that trust from the community from the get-go, and we’ve worked hard since day one to prove to them that we’re deserving of it by hosting events that keep accessibility and community as our top priorities.”
As the staff explains, this place is more than a food hall but truly a place that puts a new interpretation on “family friendly” and strives to feed the community’s stomach the way their nǎinai did back home.
Published on April 21, 2025