For 40 years, Japanese-born Toshie Wright of Gig Harbor, Wash., and Mitzi Walker of Port Orchard, Wash., have been making the long drive to Uwajimaya and Seattle's Chinatown International District, poking at food-court bento boxes and stirring up memories of a homeland they left in 1958.
They're the kind of people who've provided the foundation for Uwajimaya, which next week celebrates its 80th anniversary. With 430 employees and annual sales close to $90 million (€65.9 million), the Asian grocery and gift store -- with stores in Bellevue and Beaverton, Ore.
