The Wok Shop’s Tane Chan on Her Life and Business

At 83 yrs old, Tane Ong Chan has no intention of slowing down. The operator of The Wok Store, a well known specialty retail store (a single of the first of its type) in San Francisco’s Chinatown that serves as a one particular-end store for everything from woks to cleavers and crockery, Chan has been heading into her shop almost each individual day since it opened in 1972. She begun the small business on her have and, for many years, it can be been a culinary landmark. 

Chan has a youthful energy—a vitality that recalls Betty White’s—and her snicker is unapologetically boisterous. She’s a master punster, primarily when it will come to the word “wok,” and whilst she’s passionate about woks, she’s seemingly just as thrilled to speak bamboo steamers and Mexican foods. Beneath, we offer you a search at Chan’s existence through her personal words and phrases, from her early days rising up in New Mexico to her initially entrepreneurial ventures, her store’s flip-of-the-century on the internet debut, and her at any time-expanding enterprise. 

As explained to to Yasmine Maggio

Again in New Mexico, where I grew up, we have been the only Chinese family there at that time. My mother and father had been both equally immigrants, and an Asian family couldn’t settle in a white community, so they settled in the barrio alternatively. My mother begun a grocery store for the neighborhood and my father opened a limited-purchase cafe. We have been happy we failed to know that we have been a lot less fortuitous. We experienced foodstuff on the table and garments and shoes on our ft. 

My mother learned to talk Spanish so she could run her grocery shop. She provided groceries that were being hassle-free and pertinent to Hispanic lifestyle, like flour to make tortillas, lard, and canned milk. Our neighbors were so ready to share their food and their tradition, and we definitely acclimated to their wonderful chiles, chimichangas, refried beans, stuff like that. We ended up elevated on that food items, and to this day, I am more addicted to that than really standard Chinese foods. 

I’m the sixth baby of 9. When we have been younger, we had to operate in the grocery retail outlet, and then when we received to significant faculty, we were outdated adequate to function in the cafe. My sisters and I have been waitresses and my brothers worked in the kitchen area.

I fell in really like with San Francisco right after a visit there in substantial faculty. I was totally fascinated by the Chinatown there simply because, currently being lifted in Albuquerque, we weren’t uncovered to any Asian culture. In 1957, towards my mother’s needs, I moved there for school. My family members all stayed in Albuquerque I’m the only a single who left. I just felt that there was extra to see, far more to do, and more possibility. I was dead established on finding out far more about my tradition and even ideally studying to converse a little bit of Cantonese. I just preferred a lot more out of my daily life. 

Chinatown at that time was open until 11 o’clock at night time. It was teeming with persons and normally active. I received a occupation there as a salesgirl at a present store. I was studying education and learning in university, but I didn’t like instructing. When an opportunity arose that there was a vacant storefront in Chinatown, I said, “I’m going to begin my have minimal retail store.” I was about 26 or 27 several years previous. I talked to a landlord there, but I could not converse Chinese. My roots weren’t in San Francisco Chinatown, so he stated, “I will not even know you.” But then he asked my father’s title. When I instructed him—I’ll never forget—he slapped his forehead and said, “Oh my gosh, I know your family.” He stated my mothers and fathers did a incredibly excellent deed for a single of his family members that came from China and was traveling to Texas to get a work. He fell unwell in Albuquerque and my dad and mom took care of him. Karma, appropriate?

So I started off a Chinaware retail outlet in 1969. At that time, President Nixon had long gone to China and they wined and dined him like royalty. The Westerners were mesmerized by how a 10-system evening meal, all unique textures and flavors, could all be served piping sizzling. The Chinese disclosed that they cook in a wok, and the Westerners ended up all really curious. So they came to Chinatown, but the only spot you could discover a wok was the Chinese grocery shops.

I put a couple woks in my retail outlet, and that is how I bought started out. And right before you know it, I began looking into woks—remember, this wasn’t the age of Google—how to season them, and why a wok as opposed to a skillet. I couldn’t impart how to prepare dinner with a wok if I didn’t working experience it. When a different site opened up, I explained, “I have to focus and have it genuinely specialized.” And The Wok Shop—you know, like workshop—was born. I experienced a great emotion about it.

I’m just so content each time another person purchases a wok, and I can hardly ever converse plenty of about a wok, the rules of it, and the benefits of cooking with one. They are not meant to be costly they ought to be economical, and they get much better with age and use. It would be very discouraging for inexperienced persons if woks were being expensive—what if it won’t “wok” out for them? Woks will grow to be your go-to pan, not only for cooking Asian foodstuff or carrying out a whole lot of veggies, but scrambling your eggs, building your omelets, generating your spaghetti sauce. I hope any individual who leaves the retail store leaves with a very positive practical experience about Asian cooking, how quick it is, how healthy it is, how very affordable it is, and the versatility of the wok. 

I really had eight outlets at just one time: five in Chinatown, a single in the Crocker Galleria, 1 in Ghirardelli Square, and just one in The Cannery. I was younger, energetic, really hard-performing, and experienced all these goals. But after a although, the rents obtained superior, the hrs had been very long, and I wished to begin a loved ones. All of a unexpected I was married, then expecting, then expecting once again and yet again. My spouse failed to get also involved with the company due to the fact he did not like marketing, so I had to do it on my individual. Now I just have the one particular keep on Grant Avenue.

I have a few young ones, but I didn’t inspire them to work with me for the reason that I realized that they might have diverse interests and I failed to want to drive them. I generally advised them they have to stick to their hearts, as long as they do a little something they’re passionate about and they enjoy. To this day, they have not offered woks. They are joyful carrying out what they are performing, and we are all continue to talking to every single other!

It was my son who place me on-line in 1999. He claimed the wave of the long term was to purchase on the internet. I stored what he reported in the again of my brain and when I approached him, I mentioned, “You know, it really is payback time. I set you by way of college, so maybe you can help me get online.” He resisted at initially, but positive sufficient, he agreed, so lengthy as I was affected individual with him. It was tough get the job done for both of us, but tricky perform pays off. The on the internet business enterprise was a substantial achievement when it first released. We were being so very pleased to say we had been on the internet, for the reason that a good deal of suppliers weren’t online then. I’ve experienced the online keep to drop back on in the course of the pandemic folks were being sheltering in location and they preferred to cook at home, so I noticed an uptick in business enterprise.

Occasionally, I choose woks dwelling to year for my buyers. Some of them get so discouraged, pondering it’s so difficult, and I “wok” them by means of it but I can notify they won’t “wok” away with it. (Pardon the puns—I really like the humor that I can impart with woking. It can make people today loosen up.) Some are also college students and just cannot season it for the reason that they’ll established off the smoke alarm in their residences. I want them to wok so terribly so I say, “Give me a couple of times and I’ll season one for you,” and they are constantly so satisfied.

I adore conference men and women from all “woks” of life. We get tourists from all around, but just lately, Nancy Pelosi stopped by. She was in Chinatown with an entourage of her personnel customers to demonstrate that Chinatown was safe in the course of the pandemic. The Wok Store was not provided in the tour it was accidental. I was standing exterior when she walked by and she appeared up at the shop. I read her say, “Just a minute! I want to see this store.” She walked in and I welcomed her. We hugged, and I was so touched that she preferred to quit and appear at the shop. Prior to you know it, she purchased a wok and some bamboo steamers. (I also love when they attempt the bamboo steamers. It truly is just an incredible invention. Who would imagine that you would cook with bamboo? Who would feel! The bamboo absorbs the condensation, so the foodstuff isn’t soggy. You can steam tamales, tortillas, incredibly hot pet buns, anything at all truly.) I hope she’s making use of it, and if she’s not, at minimum she patronized me! Woks for all walks of lifestyle, okay?