We had enough issue between the Caucasian groups during the mid 60’s, hardly anyone rubbished the non - Caucasian during that era.
If anything the Haberdashery person was either Lebanese Christian or a Jew and most people looked forward to Chinese food…it was because they possibly looked at it as curiosity factor.
When u get an influx of different races or religious groups it is normal to exacerbate the problems amongst the community.
The business community don’t give a stuff about creating these problems as they see it as and competitive process for cheaper labour.