Parts Unknown: Ranch 99

Growing up Asian in the Silicon Valley meant that I grew up going to Asian supermarkets like Ranch 99. It was a part of my upbringing, just like dim sum on weekends, red envelopes for Chinese New Year, and taking your shoes off inside the house. For better or for worse, Ranch 99 has represented Asian culture as I knew it: cheap produce, the taste of home cooking, terrible drivers with visors that cover their whole face, and the list goes on.

It has never even occurred to me that somebody living in the Bay Area might not know what it is. Until a few weeks ago, that is, when I was telling a non-Asian coworker where I went to lunch. The conversation went something like this:

Him: Where’d you go for lunch?
Me: The Ranch 99 complex. (pause) You know what that is, right?
Him: Yeah, isn’t it a 99 cent store?
Me: Shut the front door.

I probably would have fallen over laughing if it weren’t for my officemate, who ALSO DID NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS. Granted, she’s from Ohio and lives in San Francisco (which doesn’t have a Ranch 99), but still, I was shocked.

This led me on a crusade around the office to see who else was culturally ignorant didn’t know about Ranch 99. The full results aren’t in yet, but apparently my coworker found 3 other people in our group who also didn’t know what it was (somebody thought it was a store that sold different kinds of ranch dressing).

My mind was blown, and I started to think about how much of a bubble I live in. If living in Silicon Valley is like living in a bubble (“$2K/month for a studio AND a parking space? What a steal!”), growing up Asian in Silicon Valley is like living in a bubble within a bubble. Consider the following:

• The high school I graduated from is now 85% Asian (it was 50% Asian when I was there).
• The college I went to also had a large Asian contingent.
• The church I grew up in was a Chinese church (I attended the English service).

For Asians living in Silicon Valley, it’s easy to live your entire life interacting only with Asian people…which to me, seems a bit disconnected from the reality that the population of the United States is only 6% Asian. While I love all things Asian, I’ve always appreciated and valued diversity in my interactions with people, and I try to initiate and maintain relationships with people who are not like me. Generally I think I do a pretty good job of introducing Asian things to my non-Asian friends, and tolerating things they recommend like Chick-fil-a (ugh white meat).

All this got me thinking about the state of American politics, and how polarized we are as a country. Excluding California, the rest of the country voted for Trump. In the Bay Area it’s even more exaggerated since it’s all but impossible to find a Trump supporter. It made me wonder about who these people were, and how different their upbringing must have been compared to mine. Do they have their own secret versions of Ranch 99 that I don’t know about? This experience has only made me more curious in the stories of those who grew up in their own bubbles.

In closing — if you’re a Trump supporter, I’d love to hear about how your upbringing and “Ranch 99” experiences have shaped your politics. And in the meantime, I’ll be leading private tours at Ranch 99 for those of you who have never been there.

(Full disclosure: I voted for a write-in candidate in the recent election.)