decrease emergency vehicle access, and have a negative economic impact on other businesses. The International District saw a protest of over 500 strong, the biggest street protests since the Kingdome was built. Save Lane Street, a group formed to stop the street closure, collected over $140,000 and 4,000 signatures and sued both the city of Seattle and Uwajimaya. The group lost their case, eventually appealing to the King County Superior Court and then the state Court of Appeals. In the end S. Lane Street was vacated to allow Uwajimaya to provide a pedestrian walkway to customer parking to the South. In 1998 Uwajimaya opened its third store, the first outside Washington located in Oregon near the Beaverton high-tech corridor. This location was formerly a Jafco store, another retail chain founded in Seattle. Upon completion of the Uwajimaya Village project in 2000, the flagship store moved one block south to a building twice the size of the previous store. Uwajimaya Village includes a food court, bank, restaurant, optician, beauty salon, cellular wireless store, and cosmetic shop. The Kinokuniya Bookstore also relocated to a new location at the corner of 5th Avenue S. and S. Weller Street. Above the first floor of retail shops and underground parking garage is the 176-unit Uwajimaya Village Apartments. Sadako (Tsutakawa) Moriguchi, wife of Fujimatsu and sister of George Tsutakawa, died in 2002. She had worked in the store from its inception until she reached the age of 85. Uwajimaya opened another location in Renton, Washington on July 1, 2009. In August 2016, Uwajimaya announced its intention to launch a line of smaller, boutique stores known as "Kai Market by Uwajimaya". Kai Market opened in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood in 2017, but closed in 2020 due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains closed as of the start of 2023. See also History of the Japanese in Seattle Tomio Moriguchi Tomoko Moriguchi-Matsuno Denise Moriguchi References External links Uwajimaya Company Website Mainichi Daily News Article Jan 06 Chiu, Iisa. "Chinatown International District: Dim sum and then some." Seattle Times. November 24, 2005. Modified on November 25, 2005. Ramirez, Marc. "Uwajimaya celebrates its 80th anniversary." Seattle Times. October 8, 2008. 1928 establishments in Washington (state) Chinatown–International District, Seattle Companies based in Seattle Japanese supermarkets Japanese-American culture in Seattle Retail companies established in 1928 Supermarkets of the United States