Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have made vital contributions to our state's history, infrastructure and culture, however, much of that history has been overlooked or forgotten, so we're shining a light on a lost history.
Meet the Mother-Daughter Duos Behind Pacific Mercantile and Truong An Gifts
The two long-standing family enterprises are at the heart of Denver’s hubs for Asian American culture, community, and commerce.Patricia Kaowthumrong •
On a frigid Monday morning in late December, Jolie Noguchi leads me through Pacific Mercantile Co. in Sakura Square, a grocery store her family has owned for nearly 77 years. It’s 7:30 a.m. and the shop’s doors won’t open to customers for another hour and a half. Jolie walks me past refrigerator cases filled with containers of fresh miso and colorful cellophane-wrapped logs of kamaboko (steamed fish cakes). We pass by shelves neatly stacked with a kaleidoscopic array of instant udon, ramen, and yakisoba noodles, wrapped in compact single-serving packages. As we wander, Jolie cheerfully gives me a rundown of the different types of osechi, the foods traditionally eaten during the upcoming Japanese New Year.