Downtown store a hub for rising number of Burmese immigrants

By JOHN MOLSEED, newsroom@wcfcourier.com

 Fifth in a series of stories highlighting the diversity of the Cedar Valley.

WATERLOO, Iowa --- The city may not have a refugee office, but for the last few months, Burmese newcomers have been able to find assistance for various needs.

At Lucky Brothers Asian Food Mart, people can find leads on housing, transportation and keys to day-to-day tasks.

"Most speak very little English," said Zaw Min Thant, owner of Lucky Brothers. "We have to help each other."

Waterloo has become home to hundreds of Burmese refugees since 2010. Most move here from refugee camps in other areas of the U.S. to take jobs at the Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Waterloo.

Thant first arrived in Iowa to work at JBS Swift & Co., a meat processor in Marshalltown. Last fall, he moved to Waterloo to open an Asian food store.

"Most of the Burmese, they are not familiar with American foods," he said. "They don't know what to buy."

The store offers more than familiar foods, Thant said. People new to the area can learn where city services are or get help finding an apartment or a car. Sometimes help goes beyond getting information. For customers who lack transportation, Thant will deliver groceries to their homes for no extra charge.

"I want to help my people," he said. "But I don't have much money. So I try to help in this way."

Since the 1990s, thousands of political dissidents and Karen and Chin ethnic minorities have fled Myanmar, as Burma is now called by its military government.

Thant first arrived in the U.S. in May 2010 from a Burmese refugee camp in Malaysia. In Marshalltown, Thant befriended Win Kyaw, the owner of Golden Land, an Asian food store there. The two saw a new business opportunity with the continuing influx of Burmese workers into Waterloo. With Kyaw's help, Thant opened Lucky Brothers in November last year.

The store is the first Burmese business to open since refugees began moving to Waterloo. For at least one neighboring business, it has been a welcome addition. Banjong Wachakit, owner of My Thai Cuisine, can find ingredients she needs on short notice there. Thailand and Myanmar are neighboring countries. Thant gets new vegetable shipments every Tuesday. Most customers, including Wachakit, visit shortly after the shipment comes in, Thant said.

Thant said he would like to introduce Americans to Burmese food.

"The problem is I don't speak English fluently," he said. "So it's difficult to describe things to them."

Thant said he plans to expand his store to include room for people to sample or order prepared food.

Thant said he is seeing more Burmese who originally located to other states moving to Waterloo. He said he wants to help them get established here and build a thriving Burmese community in the Cedar Valley.

"Maybe by next year we'll have 1,000 people from Burma (living here)," he said.