CLEVELAND — The phone rang off the hook. While soup dumplings, sweet & sour ribs and beef curry soup are flying out the door. At LJ Shanghia restaurant, owner LJ, felt the support of the Cleveland community.
“Yeah, I total lost my mind, but I’m happy,” said LJ.
She was barely able to catch her breath during the lunch rush.
“I think we have never been this busy, since we be like three years,” said LJ.
LJ and the restaurant have been the target of Anti-Asian hate calls. That’s when her City Councilman stepped up to host a cash mob and allowed customers to make a stand.
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“We stand with you, we support you against any form of hate, any form. And even though money doesn’t necessary change that. The goal today is to show that you are support in this community,” said Cleveland Councilman Basheer Jones.
But not just local support, when news of the cash mob hit social media, LJ received a lot of positive messages. Even from a Texas woman that ate at the restaurant years ago, and called to say, “I love you."
“Yea, that really make me so touching. You know I cried a lot,” said LJ.
“Given the outrageous attacks that are happening on LJ, I’m really happy to see folks in the Cleveland area stepping up and supporting this business,” stated Joyce Huang who came out to support the restaurant.
LJ is not giving into the hate and wanted to share this message with those who attacked her.
“We like different meals, different food, different culture but we live in the same place. We want to make everything good, everything right, one plus one could be more than two,” said LJ.
Editor's note: the video in the player below was published on March 19, 2021.