We recently connected with Wen-Jay Ying and have shared our conversation below.

Wen-Jay, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I founded Local Roots 12 years ago and opened up the cafe 2 years ago. I’ve always been self motivated by believing that our mission is bigger than myself. There isn’t much of a profit in local, sustainable food – so you need a ton of motivation besides money. I believe food can change the world. By connecting New Yorkers to local, sustainably grown food, I believe I’m healing the Earth, health, and culture. The mission of Local Roots – to connect NYers with high quality, local and sustainable foods – is my love letter to NYC. A city with so much abundance also lacks easy access to high quality local ingredients. Things have evolved, but 12 years ago it was challenging. I love NYC and wanted to create a virtuous cycle for NYers where they can eat nourishing food while also supporting hard working farmers that are in them taking care of the Earth and our health.

Our mission has a personal story as well. Im dedicated to building and growing a company that has integrity and Stu’s by its values of sustainability, high quality produce, and community because it’s my American Dream, and my parents sacrificed so much to make it easier for me to achieve my dream. They escaped the Communists, came to this country with nothing, and helped me build a life with more opportunities and that will always motivate me. I also view my work as a legacy of my grandfather. He worked in the agriculture department in Taiwan, then came to America and started a business making red bean buns in Chinatown. Our career paths feel very similar even though I never consciously was trying to follow his footsteps. He didn’t have the resources to grow his company when he first came to this country, so I feel I have a path made by my ancestors – an heirloom dream – to continue what he wasn’t able to.

Wen-Jay, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m the boss b* at Local Roots NYC, a subscription farmers market and Chinese farm to table cafe. Since 2011, we’ve been connecting NYers with the highest quality, local produce, dairy, meat and more.

I used to play in the DIY music scene, which is where I got the naive ambition to start a business with no experience. I say that cause in the music scene back then, I gravitated towards that energy of doing it yourself in any way you could. It was a raw energy not influenced by social media, so I think there was a lack of self consciousness that adds hesitation now. When I decided I wanted to start a company to create something nobody was doing back in 2011, I just did it without wondering how hard it would be. The initial seed was actually planted by the lead singer of The Flaming Lips. I got called to dance on stage and afterward, Wayne gave me life changing advice: look at your direct community and see how you can help them. Simple, but often we think we need to travel to foreign lands to do something that helps others.

I think my music background inspires a lot of my work. Local Roots is actually a bit of a creative outlet for me; similar to writing a song, there are moments when you’re creating something completely new at work that feels so beautiful and symbiotic like music. I’ve had to work really hard to develop my right brain at work: creating systems, operations, etc since a lot of the work we do has a lot of moving parts. In my mind, and I hope others think the same, Local Roots has an energy about it that feels special and unique. And I think that comes from that energy from my music background. A need to be different, unique, write something that feels true and not form fitting.

Having a company has been life changing. I’ve learned so much and it’s an insane honor to be able to do something I love that I also believe helps others. But it’s also really hard and it’s difficult to express in words how hard it is. I’m lucky I didn’t know how hard it would be when I first started Local Roots, cause I don’t think I would have done it. It’s physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting running a small business with no investors and not taking short cuts. I’m not saying having investors would be better, cause there’s pros and cons of both. But I have a job where I’m constantly learning new things, whether it’s how to open a 2nd cafe or about a new vegetable variety,.

My personal goal is to have more of a life work balance, and to celebrate small and big wins. I have a bad habit of never thinking I’m doing enough. I think there’s only been three times I’ve felt really proud; directing my company through safe and unknown waters during the pandemic while feeding people every day and working daily as essential workers, opening my cafe, and opening our Chelsea cafe location. There’s obviously those special moments when customers thank you or you see an employee grow and develop, but I wish I was better at seeing and appreciating successes.

Outside of work, i like to be immersed in culture and nature. I love being the only person that looks like me in a crowd because I need and love diversity, which is the beauty of NYC. Travel is also important to me. Exploring the world brings me closer to myself and helps me find new inspiration for work since every culture approaches food different, but there are also so many similarities. It’s easy for me to get immersed in nature; I could hike for hours along the coast and it would feel like 10 minutes.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Can you call me for this answer? Too long to type.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I legit used the money I saved up since I was in high school to fund my business. I taught violin in high school, worked in the dining hall in college and had 5 jobs at one time when I first moved to NYC. I’ve always been fine living a life on a low budget and saving money, so I took that money and bought a car and started a website. For the first month or so, my friend let me borrow her car which was super helpful. I built my website myself, and just did grassroots marketing like putting flyers up every day in different neighborhoods.    

Contact Info:

• Website: Localrootsnyc.com
• Instagram: Localrootsnyc, wenjayying

Image Credits
@kelseycherry @sheldonbotler