After not being able to visit Chinatown nearly as much they did before the pandemic, Nora Zhou and Xiang Robert Li of Wynnewood were overjoyed when a new delivery service, RiceVan, began bringing Chinatown food and groceries to the suburbs, writes Craig LaBan for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The food delivery service launched in May 2020 and has since been used weekly by the Wynnewood family.

“The best thing about RiceVan is that it’s a one-stop shop,” said Zhou. “I normally order groceries, bakery, and restaurant food altogether, so it’s kind of perfect.”

And unlike many other delivery services that focus on delivering within relatively close distance of the origin restaurant, RiceVan has been targeting the predominantly Chinese American audience in the entire Philadelphia region.

Although there are plenty of restaurants in the suburbs that offer high-quality traditional Chinese cuisine, for Li and Zhou. The delivery service captures some of the spontaneity that comes with a shopping trip to Chinatown and reinforces their connection to the neighborhood.

“We enjoy the convenience of it,” said Li. “But there’s also some trust built because you’re ordering from a reliable source.”

Read more about RiceVan in The Philadelphia Inquirer.