Visitors Welcome in Little Saigon

* Re W.M.L. Lawson’s letter (“Foreign Retailers Should Adapt,” Aug. 30).

The Little Saigon area has its share of problems, to be sure, but its problems are the result of inadequate planning and control of a healthy and thriving commercial community. These problems, such as traffic control, law enforcement and zoning, are the same for any city.

Lawson says visiting shoppers unable to read signs written in Vietnamese could confuse a nail shop for an acupuncture clinic. I have frequently visited Little Saigon and have never been misled by the signs. Many signs are in both English and Vietnamese. Even at shops that have only Vietnamese signs, one look inside the window tells the English-speaking customer what is for sale.

The letter claimed that merchants who do not have “demographic awareness” are inviting failure. The opposite seems to be true, however. Little Saigon merchants are perfectly aware that they specialize in serving the Vietnamese community, but they do not exclude Americans. I have always felt as welcomed as any Asian customer, despite my ignorance of the language.

We should relish the way Little Saigon has developed, since it could very well wane in a generation or two. I would not want to see Westminster turned into another Old Town Pasadena or a Santa Monica Third Street Promenade, with all the boring and predictable retail chains on every corner.

JOHN R. NIXON

Costa Mesa