Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Frank S. Fujii Interview
Narrator: Frank S. Fujii
Interviewers: Larry Hashima (primary), Beth Kawahara (secondary)
Location: Seattle, Washington
Date: September 3 and 5, 1997
Densho ID: denshovh-ffrank-01-0003

<Begin Segment 3>

LH: So did your brothers help out your father in running the tavern?

FF: Yeah, the oldest brother, Seibo, he helped out at the store. And then June, the other, second oldest, she helped out at the tavern and made it easier, of course, 'cause it's family kind of thing. Then Mom cooked the food in the back. It was a food concession right behind, well, right next to the tavern, I mean, it's in the back. But she just made chicken, things that go good with beer. And did real well and they were real famous chicken, Fujii's chicken then. I think it was a forerunner of Kentucky Fried. [Laughs]

LH: And so where was the tavern located in Seattle?

FF: Fourteenth and Yesler. It was a, it's still standing up, it's the old St. George building. I think that's where the Urban League is now. It was a place where people go. But not many Nikkei went there -- mostly the other minorities, the blacks, the whites, and a few Asians. 'Cause I knew the clientele, 'cause I always hung around there, but I didn't get to go in too often, because that's... they weren't too strict about that, but... I might go in and get my candy bar and potato chip but that's about all, and pop. But it was a nice locale, and it was a very Japanese-oriented district. Japanese drug store, Mutual Fish, and a grocery store, and butcher. It was all right there on Fourteenth and Yesler. Of course, it's not there anymore. But that was really a focal point. And I lived in sort of a tenement in the alley right across the street from the tavern.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.