We sit down with Wendy and Tommy, the dynamic owners of The Standard Barbershop in Old Town Fairfax. From IT jobs and real estate to building a beloved community hub, they open up about identity, Asian-American resilience, and founding one of Virginia’s biggest Asian cultural festivals — Asian Festival on Main.
Timestamps
0:00 - Intro
03:17 - From IT & real estate to partnership in building The Standard Barbershop
10:57 - Balancing marriage & business; tattoo stories & cultural perceptions
14:40 - Wendy’s Chinese-Vietnamese upbringing; Tommy’s family history in F&B
19:33 - How food bonds communities and shapes identity; Wendy’s rediscovery of her roots through food terms like ‘kaya/‘kayang’
23:57 - Cultural differences in families; cooking at home & the ‘pandan struggle’
27:40 - Sambal Survey
31:07 - Asian Festival on Main: from a parking lot idea to a 25K-strong city-wide celebration
39:17 - Challenges chairing and organizing the AFM
42:51 - Tommy’s legacy vision for The Standard Barbershop
45:01 - Wendy’s reflection on AFM’s growth and its legacy
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