We are still pinching ourselves over the opportunity we had last Friday, March 3rd 2023 to sit and chat with Vice President Kamala Harris about our business ASMBLY HALL.
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Our business, alongside 8 fellow AANHPI (Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander) trailblazers and entrepreneurs- most of which were legacy businesses that have been around for 50+ years and handed down 3 generations, was selected by SF’s Office of Small Business and VP Kamala Harris’s White House team to have a roundtable discussion with our country’s Vice President at Chinatown’s Public Library. An “elevator pitch” is all we had, and the opportunity to each have an intimate 1-on-1 conversation with Madam VP about our backgrounds and businesses, discuss the challenges and struggles faced by Small & AANHPI businesses, and provide insight into what the federal government can do to assist with these issues.
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We shared everything with Madam VP, from our backgrounds in corporate retail and how we met almost 20 years ago on the Gap Inc. work shuttle, to what made us start our business, what Asmbly Hall is about, and what it’s become for us over the last 12 years. We shared our passion for building community- our neighborhood, small business and Filipino communities, and our participation with Republika, a project to develop a Filipino-American cultural, retail and event space in Soma Pilipinas. We even told her about Tricia's family’s grocery store in the 70’s, one of the first Filipino businesses to open up in Soma, where she asked- “oh where in Soma? I used to live in Soma!”
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We shared on the need for support on lifting up AANHPI communities, similar to our mission to help build and preserve our Filipino Cultural district, and to promote awareness around shopping and supporting AANHPI owned businesses. Other feedback shared was access to more funding and small business grants, loan forgiveness, assistance with the rebuilding of SF cultural districts, additional resources to small business owners…'
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It was surreal to say the least. She was beyond friendly and made us feel at home. She listened and connected with us, told us she liked the art shows at our shop, and that she loves how we are preserving our Filipino culture in SF, something so important and one of the reasons why she was here- to honor AANHPI businesses and communities.
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This takes the cake for why we continue to do what we do. We always say what started as a dream for us 12 years ago, to open up our own business- a cool clothing shop in San Francisco, has turned into so much more!!
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Don’t get us wrong- we are still that cool mom-and-pop clothing shop continuing to do what we do in the hippest corridor in all of SF! Just using our platform to spread more awareness for us small guys “backbone of our country” peeps, and to help elevate communities we’ve grown to love…
Don’t get us wrong- we are still that cool mom-and-pop clothing shop continuing to do what we do in the hippest corridor in all of SF! Just using our platform to spread more awareness for us small guys “backbone of our country” peeps, and to help elevate communities we’ve grown to love…
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Shoutout to Small Business Commissioner Cynthia Huie who we owe this wild experience to!
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Read more about the White House initiative on supporting AANHPI communities:
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https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/01/17/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-continues-to-uplift-asian-american-native-hawaiian-and-pacific-islander-communities/
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