Local business owners like Lina’s Macarons thrive in Mesa’s Asian District
Sailor Moon and Luna cartoon-shaped cookies from Lina’s Macarons, one of 100 Asian specialty businesses in Mesa’s Asian District
One of several murals in Mesa’s Asian District (via SelectMesa.com)
The East Valley is home to one of the state’s largest populations of individuals with Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage, and Mesa has invested over the years in developing a district dedicated specifically to those blended cultures.
Mesa’s Asian District, anchored by Dobson Road between Broadway Road and Main Street, offers an important connection point for local AAPI communities, as well as those with different backgrounds who want to experience the rich cultures and traditions.
That was the whole idea, explains Jaye O’Donnell, the city’s economic development director.
Jaye O’Donnell
"The purpose of branding the Asian District Mesa, AZ® was to elevate a point of pride in Mesa. There is no other place in the state that offers the number of shops, restaurants, grocers and services that can be found within this vibrant Asian District," O’Donnell said. "It's not just about increasing awareness and driving economic growth, but about fostering a true sense of place and community for residents, visitors and business owners of all backgrounds."
The Asian District comprises 100 Asian specialty shops, grocers, restaurants, cafes and service providers representing a variety of Asian cultures, including Vietnam, the Philippines, China, Korea and beyond.
The diversity offered within the district, if even from a culinary standpoint, spans spices, fruits, noodles and types of fish that otherwise may be difficult to source in other parts of town.
Lina George
‘The reward is seeing everybody’s faces’
Lina George is just one business owner living out her dream, thanks to the culture that has been cultivated within the Asian District and the opportunity she had to participate in Local First Arizona’s Good Food Boot Camp, a six-week training program for food businesses.
That combination of circumstances, which included an opportunity to utilize Local First’s Mesa Community Kitchen at a fraction of the cost traditional commercial kitchens demand, allowed her to spend a weekday afternoon whipping up a delicate batch of macarons that resemble her favorite childhood anime character: Sailor Moon.
“I’ve been watching Sailor Moon since high school,” she said, mentioning she also made macarons of the character’s cat, Luna. “It’s from Japan. And now they remade it for Netflix, so this is my childhood. I have a big poster of this girl. I have everything about this girl.”
The Sailor Moon and Luna macarons were for a blogger, but Lina’s Macarons specializes in making all types of macarons, including those that resemble all sorts of cute characters. George’s joy isn’t in the eating of the macarons. She doesn’t even eat them.
It comes in seeing the reactions people have to her creativity and craft, which in her previous life as a banker, she didn’t have the time or resources to showcase as she does now.
“You should see people’s faces. When you put them on the market, even the adults, they turn into kids, smiling and giggling. They want to eat cute things,” George said. “I have so much fun making it when someone loves it. The reward is seeing everybody’s faces. I bring out the kids in them.”
Congregation of Asian businesses attracts new customers to Mesa
After exiting Local First’s Good Food Boot Camp and Mesa Community Kitchen, George was lucky enough to find a commercial kitchen inside a Boba tea shop that wasn’t being utilized.
Located next to the popular H Mart, a Korean grocery that includes a food court, the Boba tea shop sells George’s macarons as a menu item. With that location, she’s situated in the heart of a highly-trafficked area of the Asian District.
That confluence of commerce, culture and community is the point around which the strategic development for the district was focused. And George appreciates it.
“The Asian District is nice because since H Mart opened, it brings so many businesses and people who aren’t familiar with Asian markets,” George said of the exposure. “And we have restaurants and Mekong Plaza, it’s one stop, for all of the Asian style, which is an opportunity for small businesses like me.”
Find Lina’s Macarons inside Cha Tea at 1911 W. Main St #5, Mesa, AZ or online at linasmacarons.com.
Learn more about Mesa’s Asian District at Visit Mesa and Select Mesa.
Local First Arizona accepts applications from emerging food entrepreneurs looking to take their business to the next level through our Good Food Boot Camp.
