LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Inside Taiwan Deli in Las Vegas' Chinatown, customers come for authentic Taiwanese food. But behind every dish is a family story decades in the making.
For 75-year-old restaurant owner Borman Yang, that story began when she immigrated to the United States in her early 30s in search of opportunity and a better future for her family.
WATCH | Shakeria Hawkins sat down with Yang to hear her story:
Today, Yang owns Taiwan Deli, a restaurant that has been serving authentic Taiwanese breakfast and lunch dishes in Las Vegas for more than 23 years.
"I believe nothing is impossible," Yang said.
Yang followed her brother to America, a decision she says changed the course of her family's life.
"I tell all my friends in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, I'm moving to Las Vegas. They say why? I say, 'I smell the money,'" Yang recalled.
The family has now called Las Vegas home for nearly three decades.
While the restaurant has become a staple in Chinatown, Yang says family remains at the center of everything she does.
She and her brother help care for their parents, her 95-year-old mother and her 103-year-old father, a veteran who immigrated from China.
"I'm the only daughter, so everywhere I go he likes to go," Yang said.
She credits her father with helping raise her children while she worked long hours building the business.
"He helps me a lot with the kids. He's 103 now, and I can't imagine one day he's gone," she said.
Yang says the early years in America were not easy. Like many first-generation immigrants, she worked tirelessly to create opportunities for the next generation.
"The first generation is tough, but we go through it and the kids see that," Yang said.
She remembers just how demanding life as a small business owner could be.
"When the restaurant opened, the kids didn't want to work in a restaurant again because they said it was a tough job. It is. You work 19 hours a day," Yang said.
Today, Yang says those sacrifices have paid off.
Her family now includes two adult children and three grandchildren, and she beams with pride when talking about their accomplishments.
"They all do so good at everything. Good businessmen, good doctors," Yang said.
As the nation celebrates Immigration Heritage Month, Yang says she has no regrets about the path she chose.
"If I could do it all over again, I would still pick this journey. I think it's good for my kids and good for their second generation," she said.
More than two decades after opening Taiwan Deli, Yang says she's proud to share not only her family's food, but also the story behind it, one built on perseverance, sacrifice and the belief that anything is possible.
