Today we’d like to introduce you to CC Chu.
Hi CC, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born & raised in Durham in the 90’s before the RTP boom and surge of AAPI growth in our state. I grew up in Durham Public Schools and graduated from Jordan High School, going on to get my Bachelors in Fine Arts from UNC-Greensboro. After living in Greensboro for about a decade, I returned home to Durham to continue building my life here. I’ve had the privilege of watching Durham grow through my lifetime and it’s so exciting to get to be a part of that growth as an entrepreneur. I believe it’s important to always remember and acknowledge where you came from because it truly molds you in ways you don’t always realize right away. Being able to contribute to Durham’s community feels like a way to give back to the life cycle of our beautiful city.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have always been challenges with authentically representing AAPI cultures’ flavors unabashedly in American society, where historically, differences are only celebrated to an extent before teetering into the realm of uncomfortability and alienation. We are also currently facing challenges with supply chain issues and ingredient cost increases with new tariffs impacting all of our authentic ingredients sourced from Asia. Despite these obstacles, we remain committed to offering a place that pushes for visibility and celebrates the beauty and diversity of AAPI cultures. Challenges are inevitable, but the fulfillment we experience from what we are able to offer our community far outweighs any struggles we face. Our parents and beyond have faced far greater obstacles to uproot their lives for us and give us better futures—the least we can do is pay that forward to future generations and provide a place to feel the love of home through flavor.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
As a proud AAPI Durham native, I wanted to create a space that felt more local and genuine to our community. As the AAPI community has grown in Durham, we are now able to carve out more unique and authentic places for our flavors to shine. While the landscape of offerings has certainly grown, we have also had many smaller local businesses that struggled to survive against flashier franchise models coming in from bigger cities. We wanted to build something that felt like it more accurately reflected the specific community of AAPI folx growing up in the South, with limited access to treats from our home cultures. We also wanted to be a presence embedded in Durham, offering a third space for our growing community and a safe space for all of our cultures to shine with pride. The bean flower represents building community over shared experiences with flavor & nostalgia.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
The dream of the bean flower grew from my childhood memories of visiting my cousins in Los Angeles and Taiwan, getting to try all the kinds of drinks at boba shops and indulging in some of my favorite desserts that were not available in NC at the time. I always wished we could have that kind of AAPI representation in my hometown, but we did not have a large enough community or receptive enough market for something like that back then. Being able to bring back those childhood memories daily with my staff and for our customers is exactly why we do what we do here. It’s all about getting that little taste of home from childhood, when life was simpler.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thebeanflower.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebeanflower/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebeanflower/
