how a new fund is helping vancouver chinatown shops increase their customer base
4 minute read
owner joey wong stands outside the dollar meat store in vancouver on nov. 28, 2025. one of the area's original chinese barbecue meat stores, the store has grown a digital following and new customers for its chinese sausage, salted hams and pressed ducks.
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the dollar meat store has a storied history in vancouver’s chinatown selling cantonese meat specialties, such as lap cheong sausage, roasted char siu pork and salted, pressed ducks.
it’s been in business for more than 50 years, opening its doors on east pender street in 1971. the same neon sign with the image of a roasted suckling pig and a dollar sign above it still hangs.
but owner joey wong, who grew up helping his father before taking over the legacy business, has been pushing it into new areas to draw new customers.
in april, the store launched a website and instagram account. there are also plans to make it available on food-ordering platform uber eats.
and wong wants to activate the grocery delivery service instacart on the store’s website so customers can do curbside pickups.
it’s quite a change.
in the past, the company’s marketing was limited to putting out some ads to say their chinese sausages were available at different supermarkets.
“we didn’t do much. now we’re really active on this type of social media platform where it will hopefully show more attention to our store and the location of it,” said wong.
“we want to get this younger generation to come to chinatown to shop, instead of only concentrating on where they live and going to supermarkets.”
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to achieve that goal, wong tapped a vancouver chinatown foundation fund, supported by the city of vancouver and the province, that let him hire a social media assistant who shoots and posts catchy videos with images and reels of glistening roast ducks and crispy pork.
the dollar meat store owner joey wong grew up helping his father before taking over the legacy business.
arlen redekop
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there are also giveaways, contests and collaborations with other businesses to draw traffic into the store. longtime customers have submitted old photos that weave in nostalgia, while noted chefs like roger ma of boulevard kitchen & oyster bar have joined in on videos with wong for some celebrity endorsement.
the vancouver chinatown foundation’s impact fund is about giving businesses the resources to undertake projects that will further their growth and foster the neighbourhood’s unique history and cultural identity, according to kevin wong, manager of the foundation’s economic revitalization program.
he said that the city has provided a five-year commitment of $150,000 a year, which started in 2024. in two years, the fund has supported 100 different projects. businesses can apply for up to $20,000 in one year for projects that improve their physical sites, such as new lights or awnings, or boost their outreach online through digital marketing and upgrades to websites and e-commerce platforms.
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some businesses have reported a 25 to 30 per cent increase in revenue, he said.
for years, businesses and residents in the neighbourhood have faced challenges related to high rents and public safety. a number of stores have closed. according to a city staff report in july, the store vacancy rate had dropped two per cent from the year before but was still high at 16 per cent.
both startups and established businesses in the neighbourhood are eligible to apply to the fund.
the dollar meat store’s digital awakening is the latest chapter in its long history in vancouver.
joey wong took over the business from his father, who famously weathered a barbecue meat ban that started when city health inspectors shut down several shops in 1975 for failing to comply with food safety regulations. the chinatown community came together to fight for and preserve its culinary practices.
merchants and activists marched in the streets and even took their case to ottawa, carrying pieces of roasted pork to parliament to show how safe and tender it could be when allowed to rest at room temperature rather than kept in hotter ovens.
the ban was eventually lifted.
the dollar meat store’s online media push has led to other opportunities. over the summer, the store announced to its social-media followers that it would host an “epic community barbecue” featuring recipes from chef joel watanabe from nearby kissa tanto restaurant.
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“when we started the media part, that’s when i came up with the (pop-up) summertime backyard barbecue, so that was a big thing that a lot of people followed and enjoyed,” said wong.
the store’s new website, meanwhile, has given wong the ability to tell the story of how his father and a partner started the company.
they had each been working at separate chinese barbecue meat shops in chinatown and found themselves taking breaks in the same alley. they were both from neighbouring hometowns in china and had followed a similar path, living and working in hong kong’s famous barbecue shops before moving to canada. they both had young families to raise and decided to open their own shop together.
“the first 10 years were anything but easy,” the website states. “success required not only skill but also an unshakable partnership and perseverance. through hard work and determination, they built a business that would stand the test of time — one that continues to serve the community and their families for generations.”
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