Sherry Zheng and Michael Chen chop cabbage in the kitchen of the China Inn, Luverne. The married couple works long hours to keep the small business afloat and hope they will be able to hire extra help so Zheng can pursue an accounting degree.By Sara StrongWith Luverne’s population about as white as it gets, one local minority family feels quite at home adding rice to the community breadbasket, so to speak.Members of the Chinese family running the China Inn have been here for four years, but they hope Luverne can be their permanent home."We want to stay here forever, if the business is good," said Sherry Zheng, wife of China Inn owner Michael Chen.Zheng said she would like to stop renting and buy a home, and that’s more possible here in Luverne than in New York City, where Zheng lived for two years before coming to Minnesota. She graduated from high school in New York City and then came with her husband, who wanted to own a restaurant."We wanted to come here because there was no Chinese restaurant and we thought people might want to eat Chinese food," she said.Zheng, 23, works mostly in the kitchen, but helps out as needed when Dezhuang Zheng works out front. Dezhuang is a senior at Luverne High School and has plans to go to college. She is Zheng’g cousin."I wish my English was better," Zheng said. "Dezhuang speaks better."The Minnesota accent that some find funny, actually makes Zheng’s study of the language easier.She said, "People here talk slower than in the big city, so I understand it better."Zheng said there’s other parts of life in Rock County that she enjoys. "When you went out into the street, there was too much traffic. I like it here. … We wanted to have a restaurant because of security and the people seem so nice."Because of the long hours she puts in at the family business, Zheng doesn’t have much time to mingle with the locals."I don’t go out a lot, but I like to talk to the customers. That’s what people do here is talk to strangers and say ‘Hi, how are you?’ But it’s also very quiet and innocent," Zheng said.She said it’s interesting to be the only Chinese family she knows. She’s used to being one of many in her home country or a big city."People are nice; they don’t make me feel uncomfortable," she said.She’s gotten to know enough customers now, that they’ve felt bold enough to suggest menu changes, maybe try introducing some of the things that she’d eat at home with her family instead of the usual buffet fare."Some customers try new things and say they like it a lot. They say to have a new special like once a month or something."Because of that, the China Inn may expand the menu. Any changes or temporary specials will be posted on the board near the entry. The China Inn hasn’t been in the phone book until this year, but it sent out mass mailings of menus to Luverne residents. For those who don’t have the number, the China Inn is at 283-0062, located next to Sharkee’s on Highway 75.
