Q: Can you share the story of how Ho Won Bake Shoppe first began in Chinatown?

Warren: The bakery opened with my mom and uncle. My uncle was a baker and learned his craft in Hong Kong. When he came to the United States, he worked in a restaurant for a while. After getting married, his wife asked my mom if she wanted to open a bakery. It’s been in the family since then, and eventually my uncle decided not to do it anymore, so my mom took over his share, and that’s when I started running the bakery.

Q: Could you tell us more about your team and how everyone came together?

Warren: Three of my employees are relatives; they’re cousins. The other employees worked for me for over 20 years; my cousins have been working for me for 15 years. I’ve had employees who have worked for me for 30 years, and they got too old and wanted to retire. I’ve never fired anyone except if they stole things, so all of my employees stayed with me until they didn’t want to work anymore. 

Q: You have many unique items, so what do you think differentiates those items from other bakeries in this area?

Warren: Our bakery is more old school. It’s more the way things were done back 40 years ago. There have been slight changes – I’ve modified the menu a little – but we keep a lot of the old school stuff because most of my customers before COVID were seniors.

Q: Do you have a favorite item on the menu?

Warren: My favorite item is the rice rolls. I used to go to this store in Chinatown that made rice rolls. But when they closed, I couldn’t find anywhere else to buy it, so I tried to duplicate it. 

Q: What strategies do you have for keeping prices consistent, especially with factors such as inflation?

Warren: It’s hard now. Realistically, I try to keep the prices low, but you can’t do it at this point. A lot of the ingredients we use, such as our rice flour, are imported from China. Many of my specialty items use these imported goods, so the price has to go up. Sometimes people complain, but there’s nothing you can do about it.

Q: Could you tell us more about your experience during COVID?

Warren: During COVID, we closed for two months. When we opened, we only sold out of this window – we didn’t even open the front door. We used to have seating here, but we took all that out, and we never put it back in, even after COVID. In terms of my customer base, I lost about 30% because my main customers were seniors. I hate to say this, but a lot of them passed.

Q: Are there any other recipes that have been passed down in your family?

Warren: Most of our recipes are passed down, everything from our winter melon cookies to the dan tats (Hong Kong egg tarts), as well as our sponge cakes and fried rolls. After so many years, you tweak recipes your way. I’ve been doing this for, like I said, 40 years. I started by selling coffee, and I ended up being the baker here. I also went to French culinary school to study pastries for a year in the 90s.

Q: Did you bring any of your experiences from culinary school here?

Warren: Not really. For some reason, the old Asians weren’t willing to pay the money to have French pastries. For French pastries, everything is butter, and it’s a lot more labor-intensive, so you have to pay a certain amount. The newer generation might, but my main customer base back then was the older generation.

Q: Do you see any changes in the taste preferences of the newer generation?

Warren: Well, the newer generation, they all like bubble teas. They look on TikTok or Instagram, and if there’s something new, everyone wants to try it. But it’s good, and if I continue, I will probably have to do that. But I’m getting to the point where I’m 60 and I might retire soon.

Q: Could you share any special moments in the shop that you remember?

Warren: One of my first customers used to work in the jewelry exchange, and he was a regular until last year when he passed. When he came, as soon as he passed through the door, I would know he wanted a light coffee with no sugar. And I just passed it to him on the side, and he would give me the change while everyone else was in line. He came three times a day to get coffee. So there are some customers you always remember.

Q: What do you think your business brings to the Chinatown community, and how do they give back to you?

Warren: The community has always been good to me. I still keep the tradition of making all of the Chinese New Year cookies that everyone has to buy for the holiday, and there are certain seasons when it’s time to make the zòng (glutinous rice stuffed with fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves). I always have that, and people come here to buy my zòng and things like that. So it’s a matter of keeping tradition, and that’s what I think I bring.

The newer generation doesn’t know the traditions. Only if your mom or dad tells you that, “oh, it’s time to eat this during Chinese New Year”, or “today’s the day that you’re supposed to have zòng”. Hopefully, that will instill in the younger generation.

Q: Looking to the future, do you plan to introduce any new items or changes to the menu?

Warren: Actually, in the near future, this store might close, and I will have another store near the park and Grand Street Station. That store will have many of the items that we sell now, like the rice rolls, and I’m going to try to cater more to the younger people.