Pursuing the American Dream: Tucson Chinese-Owned Grocery Stores

Pursuing the American Dream: Tucson Chinese-Owned Grocery Stores

During the gold rush era in California (1848–1855), the Chinese referred to the United States as “Gold Mountain” or “Gam Saan” in Cantonese, a name inspired by the gold fields of California. Thousands of Chinese immigrants came to “Gam Saan” to seek their fortunes and live the American Dream. For many of them, owning a grocery store provided the means to pursue the American Dream. Tucson, Arizona, is one of many US communities that have Chinese-owned grocery stores. These are some of the questions answered in this book: What were the US laws and China policies that impacted Chinese immigration? - How did the Chinese grocery stores survive in a competitive environment? - Why did the Chinese-owned grocery stores decline in Tucson? - How did the Tucson Chinese Community address the needs of store owners and their families? The author’s parents sold groceries from the back of their truck in rural Arizona for nine years before they ran their first grocery store. There are more than eighty-five stories told by grocery truck/store owners or by their children/grandchildren in this book.