Asian Americans who are isolated from well-established East and West Coast immigrant communities sometimes lack connection to their individual cultural roots. They form bonds with other Asian ethnic groups. For “No-Coasters” Gomez and Lim, those influences have bled into their current occupations.

Growing up in Victoria, Gomez watched a Houston channel that occasionally aired media from Japan. He remembers seeing an enormous, reptilian figure thundering through cities and shooting atomic breath from its mouth.

Godzilla became the inspiration for the logo behind Kaiju Cut and Sew. Even as Gomez leaned into a niche, working with high-quality Japanese fabrics, his Taiwanese influences peek through in some of his products.

“The very first thing I ever made was the triangle dice bag, and that shape is based on zongzi … a Chinese-Taiwanese rice dish that’s in the shape of a triangle,” Gomez said.

Lim’s face broke into a wide grin as she reminisced about the shrimp chips and pirouette cookies she’d buy with her father at what was then Richardson’s only Asian grocery store. Food has always been a pillar of their lives.

“It was always at the dinner table. We always celebrated our culture. My dad was like, I have to eat rice at every meal, I have to eat these foods,” Lim said. “But everywhere else? It was ‘No, try to fit in.’”

OMG Squee’s menu is dotted with flavors from all over the world, but Lim’s inspirations can be seen through some of the more unique offerings. A salted egg yolk mochi doughnut wasn’t particularly popular, but it was an homage to Lim’s Malaysian-Chinese heritage. Ube comes from Lim’s fond memories of eating halo-halo with her Filipino childhood best friend. 

It’s not about being authentic to their ethnicity. For Lim and Gomez, their art represents the lives they’ve lived.

For Asian Americans in a no-coast region, “your influences are kind of everything,” Lim said.

When Lau Lau soft-opened in August, Foy and her husband, Chris Praetzel, figured they’d be able to handle whatever customers came their way. The couple quickly realized that would not be the case. The first wave of customers nearly overwhelmed them. 

“I told her, you kind of caught lightning in a bottle,” Gomez said. “There are a lot of companies that don’t have this. They try to have a space like this that encourages community, and they still haven’t gotten it right.”

There’s just a longing for personal connections with people.”

Lau Lau has quickly become a hub for Asian American artists. Gomez calls it their “headquarters.” But the secret behind their success is a genuine desire to support their neighbors. In a capitalist society where individual success is prioritized, the concept of community can sometimes be mistaken for a give-and-take. 

When the winter ice storm hit Austin hard in 2021, Lim said she aided Gomez and others by providing water, internet and shelter, as OMG Squee was one of the few properties in the area that still had electricity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gomez made face masks and donated the proceeds to displaced artists who were struggling after the cancellation of the South by Southwest Conference and Festival.

Foy lived in Minneapolis before moving to Austin in 2020 and is fiercely pro-immigrant. In the aftermath of Renee Good and Alex Pretti’s deaths, Lau Lau remained open on Jan. 30 when many businesses closed in protest but operated on a “pay what you can” formula. It also donated $484 of its Jan. 31 sales to the Austin Mutual Aid Immigrant Fund.

“I definitely think that reciprocity is huge,” Foy said. “But not because you expect that you’re getting something. It’s just the right thing to do.”

Gomez and Lim collaborated for their first Lunar New Year party in 2022, when the COVID-19 outbreak was coming under control, and it was safe to gather. The celebrations have grown since then, and each of the three businesses is hosting its own gathering this year.

There will be a festival with local Asian vendors at OMG Squee on Feb. 28. Gomez plans to host a get-together Feb. 21 at Austin Beer Works, where he’ll release a Lunar New Year brew. And Lau Lau is holding a Lunar Market on Sunday from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. in collaboration with the Lucky Market Festival. 

Sharing their culture has allowed these artists to develop a deeper understanding of themselves. Foy said she understands that being American isn’t a catch-all definition.

“The United States is unique in that so many different people live here. It’s not a homogeneous culture at all,” Foy said.

That sense of broad acceptance has a ripple effect on people around them. Foy’s mom, René Foy, endured struggles similar to Gomez and Lim. Although she grew up in California, where she said Asian immigrants had large communities, she was never as connected to her roots as her parents.

When René Foy visited Lau Lau, she saw Asian Americans supporting each other in a way she’d never experienced. 

“I’ve never been able to have these conversations with anybody,” she said. “I really understand Hannah seeking her own community … because now she’s offered that to me.”

It’s not just her mother. Hannah Foy said customers she’s never met before shared similar experiences. Gomez, Foy and Lim don’t represent their cultures in the traditional sense. But that’s what makes them American.

Sharing his own experiences, Gomez found a community of people he can lean on. 

“Accepting who you are is a big thing,” Gomez said. “It’s not that I never accepted who I was. I just never felt comfortable in my own skin.”