When the Asian population boom began in the city of Cupertino 10 years ago, such a sight was rare. Caucasians and people from other ethnicities did not shop at Asian markets. There was a certain level of uncertainty about what to buy and what to expect in these ethno-specific stores that were then so new.

Pat McCaul, who works for the Santa Clara County Fire Department, shops at Marina Foods quite often. "I shop here because the seafood is very good," he says. McCaul's view is a reflection of the growing change in Cupertino. Today, local Asian stores are losing their "Asian" identity some and becoming another store for people who wish to experiment with cuisine from other cultures.

Asian stores are also generating a substantial amount of revenue for the local government. Some Asian businesses are top revenue generators for the city. Todai Restaurant, Canton Delights and Joy Luck Place are in the same ranks as Armadillo Willy's, Chili's, Marie Callendar's and McDonald's in providing sales tax revenue for Cupertino.

The Cupertino Village on Wolfe, whose Asian theme provoked anger among longtime city residents five years ago, is today one of the busiest strip malls in the city.

According to the 2000 statistics, there are about 3,500 businesses in the city. Though there are no official figures, it is estimated that one-fourth of these businesses are run by Asians.

This number should not come as a surprise, as the Asian population in the city has climbed from 23 percent in 1990 to 44 percent in 2000. Among Asians, the Chinese community forms a major chunk of the population at 23.8 percent. The white population in the city stands at 50.1 percent.

The large Chinese community is the reason why along Stevens Creek Boulevard there is at least one Chinese store or restaurant or outlet run by an Asian business owner in almost every block between Wolfe Road and De Anza Boulevard.

The issue of Chinese signs sprouting across the city's landscape was the focus of much community tension five years ago. But time and practicality are bringing the business community together. In fact, seeing the huge market potential in the Asian community, banks in Cupertino have incorporated visible elements of Asian culture into their operations. Bank of America has added Chinese characters to its sign. East West Bank, Cathy Bank and other banking institutions—even the venerable Charles Schwab—have Chinese symbols outside to attract Asian customers.

That's not all. A majority of tellers in Cupertino banks these days are of Asian descent, and Cupertino is among the few cities in the Bay Area where the Bank of America offers a Chinese language option in its ATM.

"At Bank of America we have felt for some time the importance of reaching out to the entire community. We have had a multicultural initiative for a long time now," says Harvey Radin, senior vice president of corporate communications at Bank of America. Radin points out that these approaches to attract a particular demographic segment were started way back in the 1930s, when Bank of America started providing information about its services in Chinese to the immigrant population in Chinatown in San Francisco.

Bank of America, like other banks in Cupertino, has also started adopting Asian traditions to attract and retain its customers in this sagging economy. The bank handed out red envelopes (an Asian New Year tradition) as well as Chinese calendars to its customers during Lunar New Year 2003. Also, as part of a certificate of deposit and checking account promotion that ran from Jan. 1 to Feb. 28, customers received a commemorative Lunar New Year gold coin.

While Cupertino now handles its diversity with ease, it was only after going through its fair share of growing pains. As city council member Richard Lowenthal puts it, "We evolved from friction about immigration and change to a state of hostility, and we've now reached a stage of what I'd call peaceful coexistence."

Mayor Michael Chang, who has been an ardent advocate for unifying the community, says, "It is not as if we do not have these problems today. But they are far less than what they were. It takes real hard work to understand each other. We've been trying to instill in the community not to be fearful about diversity. It's OK to make mistakes, but we'd like to make Cupertino a model for diversity."

Working toward this goal, the city council has played a crucial role in addressing sensitive racial issues. Chang says the key to harmony lies in being "proactive." The city has identified community leaders and has opened communication channels to address the issues and concerns of every group. The Asian American Business Council, created nearly five years ago as part of the Chamber of Commerce, was part of that effort.

Vicky Tsai is the vice president of membership at the Chamber and runs a dry-cleaning business in Cupertino. She immigrated to the United States from China 30 years ago and understands the issues faced by Asian American business owners. She admits that the inability to communicate in English still remains the pivotal problem among many Chinese immigrants. "People can live in this community and get by without speaking a word of English," says Tsai.

There are five major Chinese newspapers catering to the Chinese community in the Bay area. Tsai, who has been actively trying to recruit new Asian business owners to join the Chamber of Commerce, says many of them do not feel the need to join the Chamber since they already advertise in these Chinese-language newspapers, which reach a large portion of their target customers.

Tsai also admits that there is a minor segment of Chinese business owners who are not as open-minded to bilingual signs and opening up their businesses to the entire population.

"I know a photographer and a hairdresser in Cupertino who are much happier just serving the Chinese population," she says.

Tsai is, however, quick to point out that there is a growing initiative among Chinese business owners to learn English and become a part of the larger community. Tsai says an acupuncturist she knows was not doing too well in his business because he did not speak English. "His business was suffering. So he went to an adult education center, took English lessons and hired an English-speaking receptionist. Today his business is doing much better," she says.

The language issue still draws criticism from some longtime residents of the city. Anna Black, an immigrant herself, has strong views about the issue of language and immigrant etiquette. She bristles when she hears immigrants talking in their native language in public. "It is not very polite. In fact, it is very rude to talk in Chinese or any other native tongue when people around you cannot understand a word of what you are saying. They want us to assimilate their culture, but they don't even want to try speaking English."

Black is a Dutch immigrant who lived in Indonesia and the Netherlands before she moved to the United States in 1961.

Lowenthal says that Cupertino is far ahead of communities like Fremont and San Jose when it comes to handling its ethnic issues. "We've learned a lot handling issues related to the Chinese community. We'd like to be proactive and ahead of these problems while relating to the Indian-American community, which is growing at a very fast pace in the city." According to the 2000 census, Indians form 8.7 percent of the population, and this number is estimated to be growing at the rate of 1 percent every year.

"We have these different groups in the city. They don't fight anymore, but they don't play together either. So we are not great neighbors now, but we are moving toward neighborliness," adds Lownethal.

The Lunar New Year Unity Parade in the city this past Saturday was another city initiative to bring people of different ethnicities together as a community. As the city sees it, it was just another way to say "hi" to your neighbor.