asian food: Asian businesses prosper By CHRISTINE McMANUS ChristineMcManus@coloradoan.com Sales and employment increased significantly at Asian-owned businesses in Northern Colorado from 1997 to 2002, although the number of Asian-owned businesses has dropped, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The number of employees who work for Asian-owned businesses in Fort Collins jumped a whopping 75 percent from 1997 to 2002. Payroll increased from $9.7 million to $13.3 million, at a comparatively slower rate of 37 percent. Mai Tran, originally from Vietnam, started Fort Collins' fast-growing Information Technology Experts Inc. in 1996 with business partner Bruce Hottman. ITX has expanded its IT services across Colorado, growing 50 percent last year and adding employees across the Front Range. The business was honored last month by officials in Washington, D.C. Tran is a member of the Asian Chamber of Commerce in Denver. "The members in the Asian Chamber are very tight. They are more likely to do business with the Asian community," Tran said. "The challenge for Asian businesses is usually the language and the culture." Out of the hundreds of businesses that Tran serves in Fort Collins, very few are Asian-owned. Many Asian owners of nail salons and restaurants keep records by hand, not on computers, Tran said, though computers could help them with business. Another challenge includes the competition that all small businesses face from chain corporations. Sales at Asian-owned businesses increased 26 percent, from $37 million to $47 million, in Fort Collins from 1997 to 2002. However, the number of firms dropped 59 percent in Fort Collins, from 308 to 125 businesses. Greeley now has more Asian-owned businesses than Fort Collins, increasing from 111 to 187 firms. Nationally, Asian-owned businesses increased at double the pace of firms overall. About 1.1 million businesses generated more than $326 billion in revenues, up 8 percent from 1997, according to Census data. "The robust revenues of Asian-owned firms and the growth in the number of businesses provide yet another indicator that minority entrepreneurs are at the forefront as engines for growth in our economy," said Louis Kincannon, Census director. In the U.S., three out of 10 Asian-owned firms operated in professional, scientific, technical and maintenance services, like ITX. Nearly half of sales are in retail and wholesale trade, such as Fort Collins Oriental Market. Asian and non-Asian customers alike shop at the store, 1119 W. Drake Road, southwest of Shields Street. "I'd have to go to Denver if this store wasn't here," said Janet Westphal, a Fort Collins resident whose mother is Korean. "I got some kimchi (vegetable dish), though it's a little sweeter than my mom's kimchi." Denver's lure is often a problem for the local, 4-year-old Asian food store that carries Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Filipino foods, said owner Gene Ham. "To some, Fort Collins is a country town, and they think they have to go to Denver," he said. "I wish the people who don't know we're here would look a little closer. There are great Asian restaurants here, too. If they don't support what we've got, they'll lose it." Out of nearly 11,000 Asian firms in Colorado, half are in metro areas. Colorado Asian business owners generated $2.45 billion in sales in 2002, up from $2 billion in 1997. Out of the 10 Colorado cities highlighted in the report, Fort Collins dropped to the bottom of the list in 2002, with just 125 Asian-owned businesses. The Fort Collins-Loveland area has primarily Korean, Asian-Indian and Chinese owners, according to Census data. Retail and service businesses are far more common than finance, wholesale, construction and other industry businesses owned by Asians. More and more Vietnamese and Koreans in particular are coming to Colorado, usually from California and Texas, and are starting businesses, Tran said. Since 2002, more Vietnamese entrepreneurs have moved to the region. Originally published May 17, 2006