By: Anna Zhao and Krystal Wu
Chongqing Hotpot
Located in Chamblee, Georgia is the original Atlanta Chinatown. Once bustling with Chinese immigrants and filled with the sounds of different Chinese dialects, the food court is now relatively empty, with mostly non-Chinese customers. Amongst the food court stalls is a restaurant called Chongqing Hotpot.
Caption: Liang He Rivers in front of Chongqing Hotpot.
Journey to Atlanta
Liang He Rivers has been the owner of Chongqing Hotpot since 2009. Originally from the Zhejiang province in China, he came to the United States in 1999. Rivers came to the US to follow his passion for music.
He said, “我从小就喜欢音乐”, which means, “I’ve loved music since I was little.”
Rivers went to music school in China to become a professional flutist. After performing in Texas, instead of returning to China, he settled down in the United States. Because America was the land of opportunity, Rivers saw America as a chance for a more promising life. He settled down with his wife, Gin Rivers, in South Carolina, and continued his career as a flute teacher. However, in 2008, the recession hit and Rivers was forced to consider new career paths.
Caption: Liang He Rivers on the left and his wife Gin Rivers on the right.
Thus, they moved back to Atlanta, his wife’s hometown.
Caption: Liang He Rivers on the left and his two sisters, middle and right.
Early days
Moving back to Atlanta, Rivers started working multiple jobs to make ends meet.
“我开始在仓库工作，晚上的时候送外卖，周末的时候教音乐,” Rivers explained. “I started working in a warehouse, delivering food at night, and teaching music on weekends.”
Despite his 3 jobs, Rivers was not able to earn a sustainable living, so times were difficult for him and his wife. However, in 2009, a church friend of Rivers’ approached him with a business opportunity. His church friend was a Szechuan chef with a friend who was looking to sell his restaurant. After discussing the details, Rivers realized the restaurant was the solution to his problems.
The solution, however, was not easy to come by. When Rivers first took over the restaurant, he had no idea how to cook. In fact, he could not even eat spicy food! Little by little, however, he learned each dish on the menu, studying under the chef. After 16 years, he has mastered cooking and in order to keep the flavor consistent, he is the one who now teaches the new chefs.
“所有的菜都是我教他们的,“ Rivers stated. “I taught them all the dishes.”
Ups and downs
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic struck, and the restaurant industry suffered; Rivers was not an exception. What set him apart, however, was his resilience and determination to stay open.
“我没有关过一天，我们一直开 7 天的,” Rivers said. “I haven’t closed it for a single day, we’re always open 7 days a week.”
However, Rivers kept his doors open during Covid-19, not closing for more than a day. He relied entirely on takeout orders. While Rivers did not make a profit the first 3 months of Covid, slowly, he said, the customers started coming back.
A review that spurred the increase in customers was from YouTuber Mike Chen, a food reviewer who reviewed his restaurant and attracted the younger generation. You can watch Mike Chen’s review below:
At the present, most people find Chongqing Hotpot through the internet. Not only that, but many tourist groups organize a stop in Chinatown to eat authentic, well-priced Chinese food. Although foot traffic in the area has decreased in recent years, Rivers relies on online reviews and social media to promote his restaurant.
Atlanta Chinatown development
As Atlanta grew and expanded in the last 20 years, the demographic Rivers serves has shifted dramatically since he first took over Chongqing Hot Pot.
“刚开始的时候, 我们这里没有美国人,” he explained. “When we first started, we had no Americans here.”
The Chamblee Chinatown once served as a hub for Chinese Americans from all over the South. Chinese immigrants from Tennessee, South Carolina, and all over Georgia came to purchase Chinese vegetables and eat authentic food.
In fact, Rivers proudly states “这家店是亚特兰大第一家川菜管，以前火锅都没有,” or “This restaurant is the first Sichuan restaurant in Atlanta. There was no hot pot restaurant before.”
Now, however, hotpot restaurants are popping up all over Atlanta. Trendy cafes serving boba and higher end Asian cuisine are attracting young people out to newer restaurants in Duluth. Rivers notes that once the Great Wall Supermarket in Duluth opened, he saw a drastic decrease in business and Chinese customers.
“一方面很多中国人住在那边附近，然后外周人也更方便因为I-85,” he stated. “On the one hand, many Chinese live nearby, and it’s more convenient for people from the surrounding areas because of I-85.”
Not only that, but because of the layout of Atlanta, many students live on the northside of Atlanta and don’t come down to the original Chinatown anymore. As a result, he now serves more customers of White, Hispanic, or other Asian descent, with the current Atlanta Chinatown food court owners being Mexican.
Chongqing Hotpot Now
Chongqing Hotpot is open from 10:00 am to 8:30 pm every day of the week. His busiest days are the weekends and otherwise, 11am weekdays. 70 – 80% of his customers are regulars, those who keep coming back because they crave the comforting taste of Chongqing cuisine, from 水煮鱼，火锅，to 干锅.
Caption: The dish pictured is fish drypot, or 干锅鱼.
Caption: The dish pictured is beef hotpot, or 牛肉火锅.
Rivers has come a long way. Forced to abandon his music dream and devote his time to managing a restaurant despite not knowing how to cook any of the dishes, his hardships and persistence is clear.
“开餐馆很幸苦,” Rivers shared. “Running a restaurant is hard work.”
Although his path was not the one he originally intended to take after leaving his parents and 2 sisters in China, Rivers has been able to find community here in Atlanta. As a restaurant owner, Rivers hires many workers. One of his non-Chinese teenage workers can speak Chinese very well, and to Rivers, she is family. Her drawings hang in the restaurant window, and Rivers made plans for her to spend Chinese New Year with his family in China this year.
“我来的时候一个人都没有，没有人来帮我,” Rivers told us. “When I arrived, there was no one there, no one came to help me.”
As a Chinese immigrant, moving from Texas to South Carolina to Georgia is no small task. Burdened with financial troubles, Rivers turned to Chongqing Hotpot as his solution. An honest and unassuming restaurant tucked away in the stalls of Atlanta Chinatown, Chongqing Hotpot is a worthy trip to take.