Gelato shop customers back Asian owner who received a racist note
Customers of a Melbourne ice cream shop have thrown their support behind the new business after a “coward” left them a racist note telling the owner to “go back to where you came from”.
The ice creamery in Cheltenham, in Melbourne’s south-east, was recently opened by Joyce Ng, an Indonesian national who has lived in Australia for 15 years, and her partner Andrew.
On Monday, the pair came to work at the Paradise Gelato shop to find a note slid under the door that read: “Asian Gelato, No way, go back to where you came from,” followed by a racial slur and an offensive drawing.
“I came in with my partner Joyce, who the note is targeting, she is of south-east Asian descent but she’s been in Australia for 15 years,” Andrew told Ross and John’s 3AW radio program.
The owners then shared the note on the shop’s Facebook page, revealing they had “received our very first love letter from a racist coward!”
The post began by saying there was no such thing as “Asian Gelato”, as the iconic dessert comes from Italy, regardless of who is making it.
“The Asians who work here, one of them is a volunteer teaching assistant who wants to teach English in Japan and the other speaks 7 languages and can communicate with 70% of the world, what have you done with your life?” the post continued.
The picture sparked an overwhelming response from customers and community members quick to express their support for the business.
One person dropped off flowers, another wrote a heartwarming note of support for Ms Ng, while many others flooded the shop’s Facebook account with messages of support.
“Damn straight you’re not going anywhere. You guys are part of our community now and we are not letting you leave! You guys are so welcome in Cheltenham,” one man wrote.
On Tuesday the business made a proactive move to fight racism by revealing it would donate 10 per cent of all gelati sold in the store that day to Bully Zero, a foundation fighting bullying in Australia.
“Love the way you are handling the incident. Much respect to you. Love & light, xx” one supporter commented.
Andrew said he and his partner were overwhelmed by the community’s response to the incident.
“We never really expected the response we got, we’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by the love and support we’ve got from the community,” he told 3AW.
