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Associated Press

Stand-up comedians are used to tuning out the din of clinking glasses from two-drink minimums and patrons walking in and out during sets. But what about rolling shopping trolleys or the smell of fried fish?
That kind of ambience is what you will find on comic Jenny Yang’s nationwide summer comedy tour, where she has been turning cultural grocery stores into comedy clubs for a night.
“I got to buy a bunch of small snacks and shrimp chips and throw it into the audience every time I felt like a joke didn’t land,” Yang says. “I mean, this is my dream.”
A stand-up and sketch comedy veteran whose acting credits include Netflix show The Brothers Sun, Yang is living a dream of “the most politically and creatively fulfilling project” she has ever done.
The “Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Stand-up Comedy Tour” is partly her reaction to the immigration policies of President Donald Trump’s administration affecting Asian, Latino and black communities. She wanted to entertain in cities with immigrant enclaves where she could give back. So Yang and her team chose grocery store stops and non-profits to donate to based on recommendations from local organisations.
The unorthodox tour has grown from five performances to nearly 20. It started on June 5 in Los Angeles, where Yang lives, and has taken her to Minneapolis, Phoenix and other US cities. After stops in New York and San Francisco, the tour will end on September 26 back in LA with Yang filming a performance for a proposed comedy special.

She touches on topics ranging from infertility to awareness of immigrant experiences in the US. While comedians are divided on whether stand-up should stand down on politics, Yang has always spoken about it.
“People come into this art form as a stand-up comedian for different reasons. I am of the mind that my stand-up comedy is just an extension of my values and I believe in punching up, not down,” Yang says.
Last December, Yang, who immigrated to the US from Taiwan, was back there to receive what was a failed round of IVF treatment. Heartbroken and sitting in front of an omelette breakfast, she lamented not having “one good egg” to start a family.
As she mulled a new endeavour to focus on, her mind drifted towards the “non-stop barrage” of headlines about US ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) operations.
That sparked the idea for a tour weaving her past as a labour organiser with her passion for stand-up.
Comedy is healing and unifying
“The ability to do and bring a show together, and bring people together inside of the immigrant grocery store, to me reaffirms our ability to take up space and to own the space that matters to us,” Yang says.
After emceeing a gala for the Asian Law Caucus in April, Yang shared her outside-the-box idea with the San Francisco-based group. The Caucus works pro bono in immigrant communities and on high-profile cases like the recent one on birthright citizenship.
They hired Yang, not just for her comedic touch, but as “somebody who culturally could relate to the communities that we serve”, says executive director Aarti Kohli. The Caucus offered its vast network of Asian-American community leaders and immigrant-centred non-profits nationwide.
“Although we are a legal civil rights organisation, we understand that so much of how we reach community, especially for Asian communities, is through food and culture,” Kohli says. “I think comedy is healing and unifying.”
“Ethnic food” is no longer just a supermarket aisle. Asian supermarket chains in the US like H Mart and 99 Ranch Market, as well as smaller stores, generate US$55.8 billion in revenue, according to a 2025 report from market research firm IBISWorld.
It’s just a way to remind people, yes, there’s a lot of doom and gloom. But we [have] got to make room for joy
Jenny Yang, comedian
These stores are also “cross-cultural meeting grounds”, says Willow Lung, founding director of the Small Business Anti-Displacement Network, which provides jobs for locals and attracts other businesses such as restaurants, beauty counters and even tax preparers. Stores can be anchors where there is no Chinatown or Japantown.
“They act as kind of a ‘main street’, if you will, for communities,” Lung says.
For over a year, international grocers in the US have struggled with tariffs and the absence of immigrant customers fearful of venturing out. Some stores had to close temporarily or long term, Lung says.
Yang hopes that bringing a dose of humour will momentarily distract from the angst so many of these communities continue to feel.
“It’s just a way to remind people, yes, there’s a lot of doom and gloom,” she says. “But we [have] got to make room for joy.”


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Rolling in the aisles: Jenny Yang tours US grocery stores with comedy show

Jenny Yang juggles lemons in the produce section of the Jerusalem International Market in Phoenix, Arizona, prior to a holding a show there as part of “The Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Stand Up Comedy Tour”, on July 31, 2026. Photo: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Yang immigrated to the US from Taiwan. Photo: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

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The ‘Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Stand-up Comedy Tour’ is Yang’s way of giving back to beleaguered immigrant communities in the US


The ‘Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Stand-up Comedy Tour’ is Yang’s way of giving back to beleaguered immigrant communities in the US.


Asian diaspora

United States

Comedians and comedy

Rolling in the aisles: Jenny Yang tours US grocery stores with comedy show

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The ‘Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Stand-up Comedy Tour’ is Yang’s way of giving back to beleaguered immigrant communities in the US

The ‘Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Stand-up Comedy Tour’ is Yang’s way of giving back to beleaguered immigrant communities in the US