Editorial Note
Minority-Owned Business Spotlight is a recurring New To Education series highlighting businesses with publicly reported minority, immigrant, veteran, women, or historically underrepresented founder stories.
This article is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Inclusion in this series does not constitute an endorsement, sponsorship, paid promotion, certification claim, or recommendation of any company, product, or service. New To Education has not independently verified whether the featured company holds a formal minority-business certification.
Some businesses survive because they constantly reinvent themselves.
Others survive because they understand which parts of their identity should never be lost.
Wing on Wo & Co. has spent generations doing both.
Located at 26 Mott Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown, the family business describes itself as the neighborhood’s oldest continuously operating store. It sells porcelain, teaware, home goods, and cultural items while using its historic storefront as a place where Chinese American art, family history, and community work come together.
Today, the business is led by fifth-generation owner Mei Lum, a Chinese American entrepreneur, artist, and community organizer. Her work offers an example of how a small family business can protect its history without becoming trapped by it.
A Business With More Than a Century of History
Wing on Wo & Co. traces its history to 1890, when Mei Lum’s great-great-grandfather, Walter Eng, established the family business in New York’s Chinatown. The company later became known for porcelain and imported household goods serving generations of neighborhood residents.
The official company history describes Wing on Wo as a five-generation family business that now focuses mainly on porcelain ware and cultural goods. Its mission includes bringing new life to traditional craft through an Asian American perspective.
That history matters because Chinatown businesses have never existed only as places to buy things.
For immigrant families, neighborhood stores often provided familiar products, language support, personal relationships, and a sense of belonging in a city that could otherwise feel unfamiliar.
Wing on Wo became part store, part family space, and part community landmark.
Its value cannot be measured only by how many porcelain bowls or tea sets it sells. The business also carries memories of the people who built Chinatown and the generations that worked to keep those businesses alive.
Mei Lum Chose the Family Business
Family businesses often face a difficult question when a younger generation reaches adulthood.
Should the next person continue the business, sell it, or pursue something entirely different?
Mei Lum initially followed an educational path outside retail. She studied East Asian Studies and spent time abroad before eventually deciding to focus on her family’s historic Chinatown business. She later became its fifth-generation owner.
Her decision was not simply about preserving an old storefront.
It involved determining whether the business could still have a meaningful future.
Traditional retail had changed. Online shopping was growing, customer habits were shifting, and Chinatown faced increasing economic and development pressure. A company that had survived for generations still needed to prove that it could serve a new generation of customers.
Rather than treating the store as a museum, Lum began connecting its history to contemporary art, design, and community programming.
That approach helped Wing on Wo remain recognizable while also becoming something new.
Traditional Products Can Still Reach Modern Customers
Wing on Wo continues to sell porcelain, teaware, and other cultural products, but it presents them through a modern Chinese American lens.
That distinction is important.
A traditional business does not need to erase its history to appear current. It can reinterpret that history through new products, collaborations, online sales, storytelling, and design.
The company’s official site describes this work as breathing new life into cultural craft. New York City’s tourism organization similarly identifies Wing on Wo as the oldest operating store in Chinatown and notes its effort to reinterpret tradition through an Asian American perspective.
For small businesses, this offers a useful lesson.
Customers may value tradition, but they still need a reason to engage with it today.
A historic store can tell its story through digital content, modern product photography, e-commerce, artist partnerships, or educational events without turning its identity into a marketing costume.
The strongest updates do not hide the past.
They make the past easier for new customers to understand.
The W.O.W. Project Expanded the Business’s Community Role
Wing on Wo is also home to the W.O.W. Project, a community initiative founded by Mei Lum.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art describes the project as an initiative that amplifies local voices and stories through art, culture, and activism.
This work gives the business a role beyond retail.
Through arts programming and community engagement, the storefront can support conversations about Chinatown’s future, local history, cultural identity, and the pressures affecting longtime residents and businesses.
That does not mean every company needs to create a nonprofit project or become a cultural institution.
It does show that a business can build deeper relationships when it understands what its location and history mean to the people around it.
Wing on Wo is not simply located in Chinatown.
Its identity is connected to Chinatown.
That connection gives the company authenticity that cannot be manufactured through branding alone.
Why Historic Minority-Owned Businesses Matter
Minority-owned and immigrant-founded businesses often carry responsibilities that larger companies do not.
They may provide culturally familiar goods, employ people within the community, preserve language and tradition, or help maintain the character of a neighborhood.
When one of these businesses closes, the loss may extend beyond a single storefront.
The neighborhood can lose part of its history, and future generations may lose a visible connection to the people who built the community before them.
At the same time, these businesses should not be expected to survive only because they are culturally important.
They still need paying customers, sustainable prices, dependable staff, digital systems, and business strategies that allow them to compete.
Supporting cultural preservation does not mean treating a business like a charity.
It means recognizing the full value the company provides and choosing to support it when its products or services meet a real need.
Family History Can Be a Competitive Advantage
Many businesses spend significant amounts of money trying to create a memorable story.
Wing on Wo already has one.
It has a multigenerational family history, a physical location connected to New York’s Chinatown, and a product category tied to cultural traditions.
That story gives the company a strong identity, but history alone does not guarantee success.
The business still needs to explain why customers should care, why its products remain relevant, and how its traditions fit into contemporary life.
Mei Lum’s leadership demonstrates how a family business can use heritage as a foundation rather than a limitation.
The company can respect previous generations while still making decisions those generations never had to consider, including e-commerce, social media, online storytelling, artist collaborations, and community programming.
Tradition and innovation are sometimes presented as opposites.
For family businesses, they often need each other.
The Challenge of Remaining in Chinatown
Operating a longstanding business in Manhattan comes with pressures that extend beyond ordinary retail competition.
Historic neighborhoods face changing property values, development, tourism, shifting demographics, and the risk that local businesses will be replaced by companies with no meaningful connection to the area.
Mei Lum has spoken publicly about Wing on Wo’s storefront as both a family home base and a symbol of Chinatown’s ability to endure.
Remaining in place can itself become a business and cultural achievement.
A historic shop gives residents and visitors a physical connection to the neighborhood’s past. It also demonstrates that Chinatown is not simply a decorative destination or a collection of restaurants for tourists.
It is a living community shaped by families, workers, artists, residents, and business owners.
A neighborhood loses something when every independent storefront is replaced by a chain that could exist anywhere.
Wing on Wo’s continued presence helps Mott Street remain connected to the people and traditions that made it significant.
What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Wing on Wo
Wing on Wo’s story offers several practical lessons for entrepreneurs.
The first is that a strong business identity can create value. Customers may be more likely to remember a company when they understand where it came from and what it represents.
The second is that preservation does not require refusing to change. E-commerce, digital communication, community partnerships, and updated products can help a traditional company reach new customers.
The third is that local relationships matter. Businesses become harder to replace when they contribute something meaningful to their communities beyond a single transaction.
The final lesson is that growth does not always need to mean opening hundreds of locations.
For some companies, success may mean staying independent, keeping a historic storefront open, supporting artists, and passing the business to another generation.
That type of growth may not create the largest corporation.
It can still create a lasting legacy.
Why Wing on Wo Fits This Spotlight Series
Wing on Wo & Co. fits New To Education’s Minority-Owned Business Spotlight because it represents Chinese American entrepreneurship, multigenerational family ownership, cultural preservation, and thoughtful business adaptation.
The company has survived major changes in retail, technology, and New York City while continuing to operate from the heart of Chinatown.
Its story also challenges the assumption that a traditional business must choose between becoming modern and remaining authentic.
Wing on Wo has worked to do both.
The store preserves the meaning of Chinese porcelain and family history while creating space for contemporary Asian American voices and community initiatives.
That combination makes it more than an old business.
It makes it a continuing part of New York’s cultural and entrepreneurial story.
Key Takeaways
Wing on Wo & Co. is a five-generation Chinese American family business located on Mott Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown.
The company describes itself as the oldest continuously operating store in Chinatown and focuses primarily on porcelain, teaware, and cultural goods.
Fifth-generation owner Mei Lum has connected the historic family business with contemporary art, e-commerce, cultural storytelling, and community engagement.
The storefront is also home to the W.O.W. Project, which uses art and cultural programming to amplify Chinatown voices and stories.
Wing on Wo demonstrates how a minority-owned family business can preserve its heritage while continuing to adapt to modern customers and changing business conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Wing on Wo & Co.?
Wing on Wo & Co. is a family-owned porcelain and cultural-goods store located at 26 Mott Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown. The company describes itself as the neighborhood’s oldest continuously operating store.
Who owns Wing on Wo?
The business is led by Mei Lum, its fifth-generation owner and a Chinese American entrepreneur, artist, and community organizer.
When was the business founded?
The family business traces its origins to 1890, when Walter Eng established it in Chinatown.
What does the store sell?
Wing on Wo primarily sells porcelain, teaware, home goods, and cultural products that connect traditional craft with contemporary Asian American design.
What is the W.O.W. Project?
The W.O.W. Project is a community initiative founded by Mei Lum that supports local voices and stories through art, culture, and community-centered work.
Is this article an endorsement?
No. This spotlight is intended for educational and informational purposes and does not represent a paid promotion, formal certification claim, or endorsement by New To Education.
Final Thoughts
Wing on Wo & Co. has remained in business through generations of change because its family understood that survival requires both memory and movement.
The company preserved its connection to porcelain, Chinatown, and Chinese American family history while finding new ways to communicate that story.
Its success is not based only on being old.
It is based on making its history useful to people living now.
For entrepreneurs, that may be the most important lesson.
A business does not have to abandon its identity to evolve.
Sometimes the strongest path forward begins with understanding what was worth preserving in the first place.
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Sources
Wing on Wo & Co. — Our Story
https://wingonwoand.co/pages/story
Wing on Wo & Co. — Official Website
https://wingonwoand.co/
The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Meet Mei Lum, Artist-in-Residence
https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/mei-lum
Local Initiatives Support Corporation — “Our Resistance Is in Being Here”: Q&A With Mei Lum
https://www.lisc.org/our-stories/story/our-resistance-being-here-q-mei-lum/
NYC Tourism — Wing on Wo & Co.
https://www.nyctourism.com/shopping/wing-on-wo-co/
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