ABSTRACT
Concentrations of ethnic businesses in deprived areas were until recently mostly seen as isolated phenomena. Ignored by mainstream consumers, and internally competing for local customers with the same ethnic background, ethnic entrepreneurs had their own culturally determined parallel economies. However, things have changed. The rise of a symbolic economy (Zukin, 1995) has opened up break-out perspectives for multi-ethnic neighborhoods as sites of leisure and consumption. In this context ethnic entrepreneurs have the opportunity to move beyond small-scaled local demand and supply by actively making use of the ‘exotic’ and ‘ethnic’ symbols available to them (Light & Rosenstein 1995). In Anglo-Saxon countries multi-ethnic neighborhoods are already well known attractions for a broad scope of visitors, residents and tourists. Just think about the manifold Chinatowns in cities all over the world (San Francisco, Boston, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, Melbourne, Liverpool, and London), Little Italy in New York or the Balti Triangle in Birmingham: locations that are described in tourist guides and appeal to a wide audience.
