Owner says her Oriental Grocery Store is a gift to community

The first time Li-Ling Jia came to America from China, she stepped off the airplane without a penny. She said she wasn't afraid of not having any money, though. Money wasn't a priority for her then and it's not today, either, Jia said.\nTwenty-five years ago, Jia came to the United States through an exchange program. Now, she is the owner of the largest Oriental grocery store in Bloomington. For her, running Obo's Oriental Grocery, 2556 E. Third St., is important because of what the store offers to the Bloomington community, not the money it brings her.\n"I feel that I have brought a gift to the people of Indiana University," she said. "(The store) has opened an avenue for the students because not many of them can afford to go to a restaurant everyday."\nOr, students who enjoy Oriental food become tired of restaurant food and want to make something different, she said.\nIn that case, Jia can supply all the cooking needs from the aisles of Obo's. She will even begin to provide the cooking skills by starting a program at Obo's that helps people cook Oriental meals in traditional styles. The program will begin this month. Jia will provide a detailed recipe, help customers find all the ingredients and answer any questions. The first instructions will cover how to cook stir-fried greens Shanghai style, Canton style and Szechuan style.\nFor Jia, operating the grocery store and teaching Chinese cooking isn't guesswork.\n"I grew up in China and I just knew what kind of food people wanted," she said.\nBesides spending almost 30 years in China, she also brings 12 years of experience in the restaurant business, after being cook and owner of a Chinese restaurant in town. Jia and her husband Zhi-Qiang Zou opened Beijing Chinese Restaurant in Bloomington and operated it until the restaurant building was demolished to make room for a new store, she said.\n"There was a choice to relocate or do something else," Jia said. \nThat "something else" was opening Obo's, which Jia named after her son Aobo Zou, a business student at IU. Aobo said when his mother first suggested naming the store after him, he wasn't quite sure. As a family, they agreed to change the spelling to "Obo" to cut confusion about how to pronounce the name. He respects his parents for all they have done for the family, he said.\n"Our family is so close and strong," he said. "We feel like we can do anything we put our minds to." \nJia said the grocery store is meeting a growing demand as the Asian population in Bloomington, and in all of America, increases. \nShe noted the changes she has seen over the years. In the early 1980s, after Jia had received her undergraduate degree as an English major at a university in Beijing, she received a scholarship to study at the University of Connecticut through an exchange program. At the time, no direct air route between America and China existed, she said. She flew from Beijing to Paris to Boston on her first trip to America. Jia also remembers being one of only three Asian students on campus at the University that year. \nIn less than 10 years, Jia had completed her master's degree in political science and moved to Bloomington to continue her graduate studies at IU. Her husband and Aobo joined her in America during that time. The Asian population at IU was very small compared to now, she said.\n"We were like pandas. Now we are like squirrels," she said, laughing. "You see Asian faces all the time. It was not like this before."\nWith a larger Asian population, Jia knew an Oriental grocery store would be well-received. \n"I knew there was a need and I could put my English skills and cooking skills together," she said. \nAlso, since she orders her groceries from Chicago and New York, which offer greater ethnic food supplies, people can easily find the items they need at her store.\nObo's has a very diverse clientele, she said. Customers are Japanese, Thai, Chinese, American, Philippine and Vietnamese. In just one hour, an Asian family, an American woman and college students of different nationalities came into the store. Depending on who asked her questions, Jia answered in English or Chinese.\n"Business is good. We don't have all bright days, but look at the size," Jia said.\nShe is pleased because Obo's has been open less than one year and is still larger than the other Oriental grocery stores in the area, she said. Obo's is also the only Chinese-run grocery store in Bloomington. The store is located in Eastland Plaza between Movie Gallery and Tavel David OD, an eyeglasses shop.\nNo matter the size or revenue of Obo's Oriental Grocery, though, Jia insists the money is not the key to her happiness or success.\n"I'm rich in inner resources," she said. "I own a rich inner world"