Meet Juyoung Kim, the owner of Rainier Teriyaki in the Mount Baker neighborhood of Seattle, WA. Rainier Teriyaki is a family-owned restaurant in Seattle’s Mount Baker neighborhood that specializes in delicious teriyaki dishes. After experiencing the tragic loss of its founder, Hansoo Kim the restaurant closed down for two months to make repairs and renovations. The restaurant has now reopened with one of Hansoo’s sons, Juyoung Kim at the helm, and the community is thrilled to have them back. Rainier Teriyaki is committed to providing high-quality food, excellent service, and a welcoming atmosphere for all customers. Get to know more about Juyoung in this week’s Business Spotlight: Rainier Teriyaki.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What’s your favorite part about the community your business is in & why?
My favorite part about the community is the fact that everyone is willing to support us in every way possible, whether that’s writing us a letter or simply just giving us a hug and telling us that they’re praying for us or keeping us in their thoughts.
Why is it important to you and your business that people #SpendLikeItMatters?
It’s important to me that people should #SpendLikeItMatters because even if it’s a small purchase, it helps out small business owners tremendously especially because some of us don’t get the appreciation/recognition that they deserve. I know what it’s like to run a small business and it takes a lot of time, sacrifice, and hard work. A lot of people don’t know the behind-the-scenes of running a business.
As a business owner, what’s the strangest or craziest idea you’ve ever tried?
We haven’t tried anything yet as we just reopened recently but we have a lot of future ideas to come!
What’s something your customers may not know about you or your business?
I’m the youngest son of the family and my father worked as the head chef for over 10 years. My parents decided to take ownership last year summer. Due to the tragic incident of January 14th, my father’s restaurant was bestowed upon me and the responsibilities he had as a pillar in the community also fell upon me. My father was the hardest working man I knew and I hope as I share his story and mine I can encourage others to love one another as if today is their last.
What are some of your favorite local businesses and why?
My favorite local business is actually the pho restaurant right next to us because they always treated my father like family and me and my father was there all the time before church on Sundays (their food is also delicious).
Anything else you’d like us to know about you and your business?
No matter who you are or what you do we will always treat you guys like family, you guys helped us out during a horrific and traumatic moment in our lives and gave us hope when we felt completely broken and lost, we truly can’t repay the amount of support and love we’ve received so thank you all again for everything.