When Christmas Is Just Another Day at the Restaurant

"Located in Bartow, Florida, Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant does the most business during hurricanes. Connie Wu recalls her parents' restaurant was still taking orders during Hurricane Irma in 2017, even as the lights went out and the army rolled up to their door. "They had to order food," Wu says. But Christmas was always a close second. "Other than the hurricanes, Christmas would be the busiest.""

"Wu, now a junior at New York University, spent much of her childhood under a faded grid of stock photos depicting the dishes offered on the menu. Her parents have owned Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant since 2002; when she didn't have school, she'd work rigorous 12-hour shifts - from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. - taking orders from behind the restaurant's green marble countertop or working in the kitchen. On Christmas, once the lunch rush started, business wouldn't slow down until late into the evening."

Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant in Bartow, Florida sees peak business during hurricanes and on Christmas. Connie Wu grew up working 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. shifts at her parents' restaurant, tending the counter and helping in the kitchen. Christmas lunch and dinner service creates a nonstop rush that often triples daily revenue and pushes the restaurant to stay open past normal hours. Workers sometimes cannot eat until late afternoon. After closing, the family returns home for a late-night Fuzhounese seafood hot pot prepared by a sibling. The prevailing family feeling after service is relief mixed with exhaustion.

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