Collecting Histories: A Study of Perceived Authenticity and Gentrification in the Immigrant and Ethnic Food Corridors of San Francisco

Merrick Hall Room 203

Many people do not realize how their food choices are impacted by cultural foodways. Foodways can be broadly defined as patterns that establish what we eat, as well as how and why and under what circumstances we eat (Edge, 2007). Cultural foodways are complex and tied to beliefs surrounding perceived authenticity. This is further complicated by the impacts of gentrification on different immigrant or ethnic food corridors. Through a funded grant, we explored these ideas in the various food corridors of San Francisco. During each visit, we completed structured observations by observing the setting, participants, events, and acts (Glesne, 2016). Important aspects of these observations reflect the negotiation of authenticity between customers and employees. Structured observations of restaurants, along with other tours and visits to cultural sites allowed us to hypothesize how perceived authenticity and gentrification impacted each space. Additionally, we interviewed workers, owners, artists, and future politicians to better understand their personal and professional history, along with their own perceptions of different social and cultural issues. For this presentation, we plan to compare the impacts of perceived authenticity and gentrification in the Mission District and Japantown. These food corridors are very different from each other and show two different sides to the experiences of immigrant or ethnic groups in San Francisco. The other corridors of our project include Chinatown, Oakland, Ghirardelli Square, and the Ferry Building. We plan to touch on our structured observations in each of these areas and how they relate to the project. Overall, the conclusions drawn from this project allow broad assumptions to be made around how cultural foodways and perceived authenticity impact individual decisions. It brings to light complicated issues surrounding identity and community, both impacted by gentrification and other social crises.