This Chinatown Shop Stocks Just One Item: Chopsticks

CHINATOWN, N.Y. – There are chopsticks with pandas on them and others made of rosewood, mahogany and sandalwood. Sets crafted from solid silver and hollow pairs with intricate lacquer designs. There are utensils you give for weddings and others for celebrating a newborn child. Then there are rubber pairs intended for beginners.

A store in Chinatown sells nothing but chopsticks and has shelf upon shelf packed with them.

Yunhong at 55 Mott St. will celebrate a decade in Chinatown next year. It’s an outpost of a chain based in China, according to saleswoman Mei Zhang.

“They want to keep the culture and pass it to the next generation,” she said of the owners. “Otherwise, no one will pay attention to just chopsticks.”

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Like the other shops and restaurants on Mott Street, Yunhong draws all kinds of customers.

On a recent afternoon, a couple with a young boy in tow took their time admiring the hundreds of colorful chopsticks. The pairs range in price from $2.99 to $248.

“Oh my gosh, there’s some beautiful ones,” gushed Diana, 40, who declined to give her last name. “All the different materials, different weights, different lengths... there’s so much art in it.”

Shawn Monko, 40, said they have about 20 pairs of chopsticks at home.

“They’re a unique conversation piece,” he said. “It elevates that meal when you just get the Chinese in the containers and throw it on the table when everyone’s got their own personal chopsticks.”

Diana said she’d visited the store many times before. For newcomers and old customers alike, Mei quizzes them on their needs before suggesting a set. After finding out the recipient and the occasion, she’ll point out options ranging from a set with a Chinese zodiac sign on it to matching pairs for couples.

The sets contain much more meaning than first meets the eye.

“As you see, there are always two sticks, right?” Mei said. “When you give it away, for example, to a business partner, that means, ‘We’re going to work together. It doesn’t work without me or without you.’”

She recalled learning the importance of chopsticks at a young age.

“When I was young, my grandmother always told me, hold your chopsticks, don’t drop them on the floor!” Mei said. “When you drop something on the floor, especially chopsticks, it’s a bad sign.”

Lead images by Shant Shahrigian/Patch.