STARKVILLE — The crabs are still moving at the Asian Market in Starkville.

You”ll catch it in your peripheral vision. A small flick grabs your attention. The crabs on ice in an open cooler, between the oysters and the shrimp, are so fresh they”ve still got some kick left in them. Blue claws, segmented middle legs or hind paddle legs — the ones that look like sliced almonds glued together — randomly stir and wave.

The walls are decorated with paper scrolls bearing pictures of tigers next to calligraphy. Paper lanterns hang from the ceiling. Chinese newspapers sit on a rack by the front door.

But those are just extra.

The real purpose for the Asian Market lines the shelves and fills the coolers in the tiny store; Ying Mei and Nancy Yang”s vision for providing Starkville”s Asian community with foods they otherwise couldn”t find without driving to Memphis or Atlanta. And they know the struggle well.

The Yangs, who are from Fujiang, China, by way of Manhattan, N.Y., opened Taste of China in Starkville 10 years ago. By serving a cross section of Asian peoples, it became apparent that Chinese citizens in the area weren”t the only ones forced to go way out of town to buy foreign groceries. Through their own estimation and conversations with people from several countries, the Yangs concluded which foods and items the underserved Asian market missed most about shopping in their native countries.

After years of thinking about it, a lull in the restaurant business pushed the Yang”s to open the Asian Market in November. They quietly served the Asian market for a few weeks to refine their commissary purchases before holding their grand opening in December.

Matt Davis, an American from Tupelo who”s been living with and working for the Yangs for the last couple of years, helps run the restaurant and the grocery store. He also delivers for Taste of China.

Through living with the couple and their 13-year-old son, Kevin, a student at Armstrong Middle School, Davis, who doesn”t speak Mandarin, has learned to communicate through broken English and body language.

That, or he”ll just get Kevin, who is fluent in English and Mandarin, to translate.

“Just being around (Mr. Yang) a lot, you just pick up on what he”s trying to say. It”s very broken and irrational sometimes,” Davis said, smiling. “Working for the Yangs is very interesting and very long hours. I help with literally everything from as small as cell phone bills to major money deals.”

Davis accompanies the Yangs on their trips out of town to restock the store. Sometimes they”ll make the short trip to Atlanta. Other times they”ll drive to New York and back to find certain items.

Yang makes sure to point out that requests are encouraged.

“We”re happy to find whatever you need,” he said through Davis.

“We take suggestions from people from all over Asia,” said Nancy.

For instance, she says, the family consulted an Indian friend regarding what Indian foods to stock. They have Japanese friends and Korean friends offering suggestions, as well. The store stocks a little bit of Vietnamese food in addition to Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Korean, to round out the selection.

Davis adds that sushi is the biggest seller. Kevin said some of his classmates like the Asian chips, such as Shrimp Snacks.

Yang estimates 30 percent of his clientele is Chinese and 25 percent is Indian. The third largest consumer base is Americans, who account for approximately 20 percent of sales. The other 25 percent is a mix of several countries.

With Davis interpreting, Yang says the store is doing well, but he and his wife measure their success by what they can do for international visitors and students in the community.

“We want their stay to be better,” he said.

The Asian Market, located at 210 Highway 12 W., is open six days a week from Wednesday to Monday between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.