September 20, 2012 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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Asian fusion restaurant opens in Shelton
By GORDON WEEKS
Starting at age 12, Ji Lee served food,
bused tables and cleaned at her father's
teriyaki restaurant in Tukwila. As an
adult, she managed and performed the
bookkeeping at his Sequim eatery, the
Wasabi Japanese Restaurant.
Lee now has a restaurant to call her
own with last week's opening of Osaka
Sushi and Asian Bistro at 506 W. Rail-
road Ave., downtown Shelton.
The business was launched with a
ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 12.
The structure was formerly home to the
Route 66 Diner.
The Osaka Sushi and Asian Bistro
is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mon-
day through Saturday, and is closed on
Sunday.
The karaoke bar is hosted from 9
p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.
The offerings include teriyaki and
bulgoki dishes, tempura plates, stir-fry,
sushi and sashimi. The menu is "fusion
style: Japanese, Korean, Chinese and
Thai," said Li, who is the chef.
Li, who grew up in Federal Way,
searched for a restaurant site in the
Photo by Gordon Weeks
Ji Lee last week opened her restaurant Osaka Sushi and Asian
Bistro at 506 W. Railroad Ave., downtown Shelton.
Olympia-Lacey area and Tacoma before light that streams through the restau-
zeroing in on downtown Shelton. She rant, and by the drive-through window.
said she was attracted by the amount of For information, call 427-2625.
Journal photo by Gordon Weeks
Chris Meyer surprises his boss, Bakala State Farm Insurance owner Melanie Bakala, with a U.S.
Department of Defense "Above and Beyond Award" for making sure he had a job to return to after the
Air National Guard sent him to Bahrain for six months.
After 6 months in Bahrain,
employee initiates award
By GORDON WEEKS Bakala's three other em-
gordon@rna,~'ot~coumy.com ployees worked harder to fill
.................................................................. in for Meyer, who was wel-
comed back to work in May.
Melanie Bakala, owner of Bakala's devotion to her
Bakala State Farm Insur- employee earned her the
ance in Shelton, felt a rush of "Above and Beyond Award"
emotions when her employee, from the Washington Com-
Chris Meyer, told her the Air mittee for Employer Support
National Guard was deploy- of the Guard and Reserve
ing him overseas to Bahrain (ESGR), an agency of the
for six months, U.S. Department of Defense.
"My first reaction was, The award honors Bakala for
'Man, I'm going to miss him, her extraordinary support
having him as part of the for employees who serve in
team,'" she recalled. "My sec- the National Guard and Re-
ond reaction was, 'Hey, don't serve.
worry about the job' ... Then The "Above and Beyond
I started thinking, 'What am Award" is given to only 10
I going to do?'" to 15 Washington employers
each year.
Meyer nominated his boss
for the award, and surprised
her with a presentation at
the office last week. Bakala
cried when
she was
handed the
award.
"The office
Was crazy
down," he said.
As a member of the Air
National Guard, Meyer
served as a firefighter for
the Air Force on a Navy base
S~a in Bahrain.
~'As a ~ His biggest
battle was ex-
business tinguishing a
portable potty
owne it'sfire, he said.
because of B a k a l a:
said she '
that,all this hub-with
reaJNy tough to honored to
bub," Bakala
said. "And dO But it's nominated for
*~ • the award by
it's hard toth ight th employ-
surpriseme, e ing her
" ee. Meyer is
M e y e r ~ d ~u a "fabulous"
said he to ~ person who is
wasn't wor- great with cli-
ried about losing his job~ dur- ents, she said.
ing his absence. "As a small business own-
"I knew Mel wogld take er, it's really tough to do," she
care of it ..: My concern was said of Meyer's absence. "But
leaving the office one person it's the right thing to do."
Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 - Page B-3
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