One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
Longtime Little Tokyo Shops Are Reinventing Themselves To Survive
Mochi maker Bill Kito says the family business Fugetsu-Do has survived 100-plus years in Little Tokyo, even making it through World War II, when his dad was incarcerated with other Japanese Americans at a camp in Wyoming.
But the kind of threat COVID-19 poses has got to make it "the worst," he says — because under the state's stay-at-home order, dine-in regulars can no longer stroll in off the street.
Across Little Tokyo's five city blocks, longtime small businesses like Fugetsu-Do are being forced to change decades-old ways of operation. They're cutting their menus for take-out orders, sprucing up their social media presence and creating deals to entice new customers.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
