More Than Haircuts: Asian Pride at The Asian Festival on Main, Fairfax

We sit down with Wendy and Tommy, the dynamic owners of The Standard Barbershop in Old Town Fairfax. From IT jobs and real estate to building a beloved community hub, they open up about identity, Asian-American resilience, and founding one of Virginia’s biggest Asian cultural festivals — Asian Festival on Main. Timestamps0:00 - Intro03:17 - From IT & real estate to partnership in building The Standard Barbershop10:57 - Balancing marriage & business; tattoo stories & cultural perceptions14:40 - Wendy’s Chinese-Vietnamese upbringing; Tommy’s family history in F&B19:33 - How food bonds communities and shapes identity; Wendy’s rediscovery of her roots through food terms like ‘kaya/‘kayang’23:57 - Cultural differences in families; cooking at home & the ‘pandan struggle’27:40 - Sambal Survey31:07 - Asian Festival on Main: from a parking lot idea to a 25K-strong city-wide celebration39:17 - Challenges chairing and organizing the AFM42:51 - Tommy’s legacy vision for The Standard Barbershop45:01 - Wendy’s reflection on AFM’s growth and its legacyFOLLOW THE STANDARD BARBERSHOPhttps://www.thestandardbarbershop.comhttps://www.instagram.com/thestandardbarbershopffx/FOLLOW US⁠⁠@abangbrian⁠⁠⁠⁠@hungryimmigrant⁠