A beloved Chinese restaurant in Hartsdale has finally reopened after the remnants of Ida threatened the business.

In Chinese culture, one won't commonly hear the words "I love you" or "wo ai ni," but affection is often shown through acts of service.

"Food is the way we demonstrate love," says Jess Jeng, whose mother Gloria, owner of Hunan Village, feeds from the heart. The restaurant symbolizes Gloria Jeng's American dream and her sacrifices as a Chinese immigrant.

"I work really hard and this community—this is my life," Gloria Jeng says.

But this past year has served up COVID-19 closures, anti-Asian hate and the remnants of one unpredictable Hurricane Ida. One could say there's no storm the business has not weathered.

"It just became the kind of disaster that nobody knew how to navigate," Jess Jeng says.

"Really hard to tell you how I feel at that time, but depressed, depressed, depressed," Gloria Jeng said.

Ida flooded the entire restaurant with sewage, forcing the business to remodel the whole place which set the family back six figures out of pocket. On top of that, they were denied aid from FEMA, SBA and their insurance.

"We found out no one can help us. I wanted to cry with tears," Gloria Jeng recalls.

That's where the community came in.

The Westchester Foodies group held a fundraiser for them and other impacted businesses.

"And they came and dropped off the check, and my mom cried," Jess Jeng says.

Now, after more than three months of closure, Hunan Village finally reopened this week.

So even though "I love you" is not said much in Chinese culture, the Jeng family heard those words loud and clear from the Westchester community.

"They love me, love my food, love my restaurant... I'm so, so grateful to them, from the bottom of my heart," Gloria Jeng says in Mandarin.

And the Jengs have one message back: To go to Hunan Village to show the family some love and appreciation, they say.