Food-centric malls function as critical social infrastructure for immigrant communities. Students, seniors, and recent immigrants use these spaces for socialization, connection, and commerce. Planning scholarship has largely overlooked how zoning and urban morphology shape these spaces. This research paper will draw on theories from Wei Li, Eric Klinenberg, David Ley, and from autoethnographic observation and planning document analysis. This paper argues that planning frameworks create and shape social life within ethnoburban communities. Within Flushing, small parcels and high-density mixed-use zoning create transit-friendly and dense commercial environments, supporting routine social interaction. In Richmond, large suburban parcels create a more expansive but internally contained social environment. Planners are urged to stop overlooking and recognize food-centric malls as culturally significant social infrastructure that improve social life. This can be achieved through updating zoning language, commercial retention policies, and cultural district designations.