Media Advisory: Today, Mayor Justin Elicker to Celebrate the Opening of Zakka Yale on Chapel Street

[Len Speiller]

 

MAYOR JUSTIN M. ELICKER

CITY OF NEW HAVEN

 

*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

 

MAYOR JUSTIN ELICKER TO CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF ZAKKA YALE ON CHAPEL STREET

 

New Asian- and woman-owned gift shop promotes Asian culture & provides Asian students studying in U.S. a taste of home.

 

NEW HAVEN, CT – Today, Tuesday, July 12^th at 12:30 p.m., New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker and other city leaders will join store owner May Lin to celebrate the opening of Zakka Yale, a new Asian-themed gift shop at 841 Chapel Street in the Downtown neighborhood.

 

An Asian- and woman-owned business, Zakka is a new addition to the City and the Town Green District retail stable. Zakka first opened its doors in May and features a mix of Japanese, Korean, and Chinese products and is modeled after a style of gift shop common in Japan.  The ribbon-cutting ceremony will officially welcome the shop to a block of Chapel Street between Church and Orange Streets, and will also provide Lin with an opportunity to acknowledge and thank business partners Steven Gao, Tiran Chen, and Yanhua Xie.

 

Lin is a veteran entrepreneur who has worked as a wedding planner, photographer, and in a fashion shop specializing in Chinese designs. She has also owned restaurants and currently owns Whale Tea, a boba shop she started in 2019 that has grown into a franchise with 23 stores across the U.S., including nine in Connecticut. Lin, who is Chinese, came to the U.S. in 1996. She has a 19 year-old son, and 17 year-old daughter. Lin is proud of her Asian heritage and sees the store as a way to share Asian culture with Americans and give Asian students studying abroad a taste of home.

 

EVENT DETAILS:

 

WHAT:	Ribbon-Cutting Event for Zakka Yale
WHEN:	Tuesday, July 12 at 12:30 p.m.
WHERE:	841 Chapel St., New Haven, CT 06510
WHO:	Mayor Justin Elicker; May Lin, Owner, Zakka Yale Carlos Eyzaguirre, Deputy Economic Development Administrator, City of New Haven Win Davis, Executive Director, New Haven Town Green District Among others

 

###

 

Press Contact:

Lenny H. Speiller (he/him)

Director of Communications

Mayor Justin Elicker | City of New Haven

165 Church Street | New Haven, CT 06511

Phone: 203-725-4249

Email: Lspe...@newhavenct.gov