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The way
I would describe International District

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is it's a product of three

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civil rights era redlining.

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A lot of businesses have survived
or a lot of businesses have changed

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their names and a lot of businesses
have been passed down.

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Seattle's International District
is a bustling mix of old and new.

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And Mike Vu's Itsumono restaurant
is one of the new wave of businesses

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that's keeping the neighborhood
a relevant and vital.

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A lot of us are trying to preserve
all that of what our grandparents

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or our parents brought,

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but also creating our own identity
and saying Yeah, this is our culture.

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This is what it means to be
an Asian American.

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Phnom Pen Noodle
House is one of those businesses

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that's been passed down.
Diane Le and Dawn Ong

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are two of the three sisters
who have taken it over.

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The restaurant was just an integral part
of our upbringing.

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So we wanted to carry it on.

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It means a lot
because we've done so much around here.

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People know where we are
and they know where to come.

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Tuyen Than and Ryan Catabay run Drag & Drop

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Creative, a multi-disciplinary agency
that has helped

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infuse the neighborhood
with the fresh esthetic.

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We specialize in logos,
websites, branding.

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Did you already say website?
We do websites, yeah.

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Uh huh.

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There's definitely a new energy.

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You see more young people,
you see more of the same faces.

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I really do feel like 
we have a strong community

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and we help each other out.

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Despite the energy brought in by these young
entrepreneurs, the past couple of years

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have been an especially tough period
for the International District.

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The neighborhood we see and experience
today is not the neighborhood

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we grew up in or the neighborhood
we want to see for the future.

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I think the biggest hurdles is the safety.

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The start of the pandemic saw
a drop in foot traffic

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and a rise in anti-Asian violence,
and Seattle's ongoing spikes in crime

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and homelessness
are each having visible effects.

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We live on the Little Saigon side,
and if you don't know

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what the Little Saigon side
is, it's after the freeway and,

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you know, walking under that
freeway is not as fun as it used to be.

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International District

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is going through a lot of changes,
and it's at a crossroads right now.

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There's a lot of development,
and we're at a point where we're kind of

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we're creating
what Chinatown looks like right now.

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As the neighborhood
goes through this period

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of rapid growth.

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Business owners point to some nonprofit
developments as examples

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of how growth can occur while
respecting the neighborhood character.

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Because some of these developments

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are run by the neighborhood association
like SCIDpda.

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And even in this development,
like there are certain parameters

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that they tried to keep to ensure that
there's still some neighborhood identity.

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I mean, this is called
Thai Binh.

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I think they're very intentional
with the name of the building.

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I think at least they're trying
to make some accommodations

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to still keep a lot of the identity
and the culture

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in these neighborhoods and try to preserve
some piece of the history.

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You know, if we can't keep these old
buildings, we should at least try our best

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to preserve the history
and keep talking about it.

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Just to the northeast of the ID

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is an example of what the neighborhood
is working to avoid.

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In the 1970s, Seattle's
Central District was 70% Black.

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Today, it is less than 20%.

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As Seattle gentrified 
the historic character

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of that neighborhood
was largely wiped out.

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In the I.D., there are signs that process
may be starting to repeat itself.

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And that's why these young entrepreneurs
work so hard to maintain

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the neighborhood's identity
as a cultural hub.

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Diane and Dawn are also motivated
by the memories

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of what the neighborhood
once was for their family.

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We used to walk from Beacon Hill.

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That's where we lived
and come down to Chinatown

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and we would just run all over.

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When the sisters had to look
for a new location in 2018.

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They briefly considered
moving out of the neighborhood.

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We looked at, like Renton and Kent,
but nothing felt right.

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And our hearts came back
to the neighborhood where we grew up

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and where we felt like
this was just our neighborhood.

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This is where we should be.

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Nancy Nomellini agrees.

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She opened her Mother
Yoga studio during the pandemic

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and says the International district
bridges many different cultures.

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There's not an exclusivity of like, OK,
this neighborhood is only for

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Chinese people.

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This neighborhood thrives on other

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neighborhoods and people
coming into it to support the local shops.

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Mike Vu

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says the diversity of cultures
is a strength.

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It's a defining characteristic of both
his restaurant and his neighborhood.

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For me, I'm I'm half Chinese,

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half Vietnamese. My business partner.

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He's first generation Japanese.

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So that means he immigrated here.

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My 5th generation Japanese from Hawaii.

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We all see being American

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and living in America very differently.

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But we all agree that,

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you know, we definitely want this place
to be a safe place

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for everybody to come in to

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basically have a taste of our culture.

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Even with the challenges,
and uncertain future,

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the sisters behind
Phnom Penh know they're in the right place.

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There's no other neighborhood
I'd rather be in. Seattle, CID,

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Little Saigon. Is it.