From left to right: Chef Hung Huynh was born in Saigon; Co-owner Lordfer Lalicon of Filipino restaurant Kaya; Ricky Ly of TastyChomps; Chef William Shen of Sorekara.

ON ANY GIVEN SATURDAY IN THE BUSTLING MILLS 50 DISTRICT, YOU CAN SEE THE STORY OF ORLANDO’S ASIAN AMERICAN PACIFIC ISLANDER (AAPI) COMMUNITY AND THE CITY OF ORLANDO WRITING AND UNVEILING NEW CHAPTERS OF ITSELF IN REAL TIME. Families and friends crossing the busy Mills and SR 50 / Colonial Drive intersection to grab some halo halo Filipino ice cream dessert at Sampaguita or friends meeting up at the nearby Mills Market, where Tien Hung Market once stood. In its current reincarnation, Mills Market is now a Michelin Guide recognized food hall. Down the street, visitors and locals alike can catch chefs picking groceries at the local iFresh supermarket on Bumby Ave. for their next collab. And if you are lucky enough to visit during the annual Lunar New Year celebrations, you could find a dragon parade winding its way through the neighborhood, a new old tradition.

This past year, Florida’s first H-Mart opened in West Orlando—one of the largest locations for the hugely popular Korean supermarket chain. At the same time, longtime local staples like Saigon Market and Little Saigon in Mills 50 have closed, likely due to a mix of retirements, rising rents, and shifting cultural tastes. Much like the story of Orlando, these stories of identity and culture are still being written. During May, nationally recognized as AAPI Heritage Month, we take a look at the history and future of the Asian American Pacific Islander community in the City Beautiful.

Strangers in a Strange Land – The Early Years in Orlando

Long before Disney, Asian Americans were already part of the immigration story that helped shape Central Florida. From Chinese horticulturist Lue Gim Gong, who settled in DeLand after the Civil War and developed hardier orange varieties, to Southeast Asian refugees who arrived after the Vietnam War and helped build Orlando’s small business and restaurant scene, these communities have played a foundational role in the region’s growth.

According to Professor Wenxian Zhang of Rollins College, several factors drove this expansion: the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, the opening of Walt Disney World and other tourist hubs, the end of the Vietnam War, and the rise of the Sunbelt economy. Together, these forces brought new waves of Asian immigrants to Florida, making Asian Americans one of the state’s fastest-growing populations.

Yet many of these stories remain underrepresented. As Rachel Williams of the Orange County Regional History Center explains, AAPI experiences are often reduced to brief mentions in mainstream narratives, frequently focused on hardship, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act or Japanese internment, while stories of achievement and contribution receive far less attention.

Today, Asian Americans are the fastest-growing major racial or ethnic group in the United States, with roughly 24 million people, or about seven percent of the population. In Florida alone, more than 700,000 Asian residents contribute to the state’s continued growth, as both international immigration and domestic migration bring new communities to the region. While Asian Americans make up only less than three percent of Florida’s population, they represent more than six percent of residents in Orange County, highlighting Central Florida’s role as one of the state’s most significant hubs for AAPI communities. The community is also highly diverse, representing more than 20 countries and hundreds of languages, and about two-thirds are immigrants or children of immigrants, underscoring the continued importance of migration in shaping its identity.

Family photos at Filipino restaurant Kaya.

Finding Belonging and Home in Central Florida

Despite this growth, many Asian Americans continue to face discrimination. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that 58 percent of Asian American adults report experiencing racial discrimination. These tensions intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, when anti-Asian violence surged nationwide. In March 2021, a gunman killed eight people—six of them women of Asian descent—at spas in the Atlanta area. Authorities later revealed the suspect had been driving toward Florida and intended to carry out additional attacks before being stopped in Georgia. The incident heightened fear across the Southeast, including Central Florida, while also galvanizing solidarity within AAPI communities.

News reporter and Florida Asian American Journalists Association president Valerie Boey recalls how that moment shifted public awareness. “That’s when newsrooms across the country finally took an interest in telling our stories,” she says. “Representation makes a huge difference. Sometimes it takes an AANHPI journalist to speak up—because they’re speaking from the heart.”

In response to both national trends and local needs, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office formed the AAPI Liaison Committee in 2022. Established by Sheriff John Mina in collaboration with advocacy groups like the Orlando Chapter of NAACP under Vanessa Toolsie, AAPI Coming Together (ACT), the Greater Orlando Asian American Bar Association, among others, the task force made of volunteer deputies, the initiative focuses on building trust, bridging language gaps, and encouraging crime reporting, particularly among residents who may otherwise hesitate due to cultural or linguistic barriers.

Advocacy has also taken shape in the local education system. Kung fu master, and Orlando magazine Women of the Year honoree Mimi Chan of Orlando’s Wah Lum Temple and founder of the Make Us Visible Coalition, helped secure the inclusion of AAPI history in Florida’s K–12 curriculum in 2023, making Florida the largest state to adopt such a requirement. “Every intentional action can make a difference,” she says, emphasizing values of respect, empathy, and standing up against bullying. According to studies from Stanford University, understanding history is key to addressing the ignorance that fuels discrimination. Education remains critical, as a 2023 survey found that nearly three in every ten Americans could not name a single AAPI historical event or policy.

Sunayana Dumala, founder of the Forever Welcome Foundation, lost her husband in a racially motivated shooting in 2017. Rather than leaving the U.S., she chose to stay and advocate for immigrant safety. Now based in Orlando, she points to the city’s diversity as a strength, and also a responsibility. “Belonging is not automatic,” she says. “It has to be continuously built. It begins with dignity, being able to be yourself without fear and knowing your story matters.”

Shally Wong, Special Assistant to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and the county’s first AAPI community liaison, emphasizes both progress and ongoing challenges. “Our stories are unique, but they are connected by courage and the hope for a better future,” she says. “At the same time, many within our community still face language barriers, income disparities, limited healthcare access, and underrepresentation in leadership.”

Former Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, the first Vietnamese American woman elected to Congress, sees the community’s growth reflected in everyday life. “I feel it in Lunar New Year celebrations, small business openings, and conversations with first-generation families,” she says.

“There’s a shared story, families who came here for opportunity and built something from nothing. That spirit resonates deeply with me.”

Cecilia Nguyen, owner of Tien Hung Jewelry.

Orlando’s Mills 50 At Crossroads

Joanne Grant, Executive Director of Orlando’s Mills 50 District, says, “Ten years ago, Mills 50 had many empty storefronts. That has changed and today, there are very few vacancies because Mills 50 has become the place to be. We now have more retail, along with a wide range of Asian restaurants and businesses, including tailors, acupuncturists, nail and beauty salons, and more.”

That transformation of Mills 50 has roots dating back to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. As Azalea Santana of the Orange County Regional History Center explains, Vietnamese immigrants established “Little Vietnam” in Mills 50 in the 1970s. Today, the district has expanded into a broader hub of Asian cultures, introducing Orlando to new foods, coffee, and retail experiences. What was once a niche enclave is now one of the city’s most vibrant and influential neighborhoods, with its impact extending far beyond Mills 50 as Asian grocers and specialty markets continue to grow across the region.

Nationally, Asian Americans have one of the highest rates of business ownership among immigrant groups, generating an estimated $1.2 trillion in annual revenue. At the same time, a generational shift is underway. Mike Nguyen, owner of The Moderne, represents a new wave of AAPI entrepreneurs stepping in as longtime business owners retire.

“What I’ve created is still Asian at its core, but reimagined in a modern way,” he says. “But without my parents’ sacrifices, none of this would have been possible.”

For many in the community, food remains the bridge between heritage and innovation. Jason Chin of Good Salt Restaurant Group and James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Restaurateur, notes that first- and second-generation restaurateurs are not just serving meals, but they are also sharing their heritage and culture. “It’s like opening our homes to guests,” he says. “We’re helping people understand who we are.” He adds that Orlando’s advantage is its relative youth as a young city: “We’re still writing the story of this city’s food culture in real time.”

That story is now gaining national recognition. Orlando’s dining scene, shaped in part by AAPI chefs, is earning national and international accolades while continuing to evolve at the neighborhood level. Chef William Shen’s Sorekara has elevated Orlando’s dining scene onto the global stage with two Michelin stars, while his more casual Japanese rice ball concept, UniGirl, adds to the hustling community hub of Mills Market. Nearby, Chef Hung Huynh’s upcoming tiki bar continues to shape and transform the Mills 50 corridor.

Shally (Lai Hung) Wong, special assistant to Mayor Jerry Demings.

Others in the community are pushing the conversation forward through sustainability and values-driven dining. At Kaya, Jamilyn Bailey and Chef Lordfer Lalicon have built Florida’s first Michelin Green Star restaurant, recognized for its commitment to sustainability. Lalicon was also a 2023 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: South. Bailey says, “Our work is about community, sustainability, and honoring our foodways.”

As time goes on and changes continue, there is a desire to shape what the next generation will bring. Johnny Tung of Bento Group recalls when Mills 50 felt like a small “Viet Town.” Today, he sees a more collaborative and diverse ecosystem, anchored by spaces like Mills Market that bring multiple cultures together under one roof. “We’re reclaiming authenticity,” he says. “And we want Orlando to be recognized as a major Asian food destination, not just nationally, but internationally.”

Cecilia Nguyen of Tien Hung Jewelry inside Mills Market sees that transformation every day. Her father immigrated alone from Vietnam in 1975, eventually reuniting with his family in Florida and opening up the jewelry shop in the former Tien Hung market location. Looking out from her shop, she reflects, “You know what’s been interesting throughout this change of the old Tien Hung market to the new Mills Market? Three years ago, my view looking out to the store through the tempered glass was rows of dried noodles in front, rice bags to my right and a live seafood aisle to my left. The transformation into what it is today and to see all the guests coming from near and far. I see them make new memories with loved ones through our food and that just warms my heart. My father would be so proud if he could see it today.” 

Her hope and for the next generation and the future of the community is clear: “Keep pushing forward, work hard, and never stop evolving.” The fabric of America is woven in these simple hopes and dreams from immigrant communities who now call Orlando home, where the American dream lives on.