El Cerrito restaurant catering to fast-growing Nepalese community in Contra Costa County
Newly released census data shows exactly how many ethnic groups are represented across the state and how many people identify with each group.
In Contra Costa County, the area has seen a surge of immigrants from the Southeast Asian country of Nepal. And at Zomsa, there is the smell of a simmering, spicy sauce, bringing back memories of Nepal.
"Oh yeah, if you go to Nepal you have to have it," said Manjila Moktan.
Her mother is making Tali, a staple of Nepalese cuisine, with rice, vegetables, and chicken.
Manjila Moktan spent the first 17 years of her life in Nepal before emigrating to the U.S. and settling in the Bay Area.
"I didn't process it. I think I was in shock," said Moktan.
Her father Tara, fled a civil war in Nepal to seek economic opportunity in America, and after saving for years, opened Zomsa in El Cerrito, catering to a fast-growing Nepalese community.
"Now, he sees a lot of people in the streets everywhere, and he just feels like it's Nepal here," said Moktan.
Census data shows Asian Americans are the fastest-growing ethnicity in California. The Nepalese population is also the fastest-growing Asian subgroup in the country.
In Contra Costa County, that number jumped more than 545% from 2010-to-2020.
"You're seeing these newer places where cost-of-living is not as high they are creating enclaves, ethnic, enclaves, or ethnic communities of their own, and I think that's exciting and it'll be important to see what happens over the next decade in terms of the growth," said UC Riverside Public Policy professor Karthick Ramakrishnan.
Ramakrishan, is also the founder of AAPI Data.
"Because of the high cost of living in California, it is more difficult for Latinos, who, on average tend to have lower incomes to remain in California or to come to California when compared to Asian Americans," said Ramakrishnan.
Leaving one's homeland is never easy. But the opportunities abound.
In seven years, Manjila graduated from high school and earned a degree in applied mathematics from UC Santa Barbara and is hoping to work in tech, specializing in data analysis.
"I'm not saying it's easy here, but there's definitely more opportunities here than in Nepal," said Moktan.
"If she works for a big company I'm happy," said owner of Zomsa and Manjila's father Tara Lam.
Her father's smile says it all and so does Manjila's.
"We're just grateful we have a small business here and the whole family is here together. The restaurant is really busy and popular too," said Moktan.
Foodies craving a taste of Nepal gather at Zomsa.
Manjila's family is making strides in their new homeland but are reminded of Nepal, by the smells and taste of home cooked food, almost every day.
The data collected by the Census in 2020 is just being released now because of extra precautions taken to address privacy concerns after the last census results in 2010 were released.
