SEATTLE —
A beloved family-owned business in Rainier Valley is closing its doors for good.
After nearly 77 years, Mutual Fish will be closed as of Saturday, Sept. 16.
Harry Yoshimura’s father opened the store in 1946. He, his son and his sister are all partners in the business now and made the tough decision to close.
“It's just about time, we’ve been thinking about it for a while,” said Yoshimura.
Yoshimura said he wanted to close quietly, but word quickly spread and now the business is filled with people stopping by to say goodbye.
One customer video called his 104-year-old mother, who is currently in Israel, so she could say goodbye. She said she was a customer for decades when she lived in the area.
Rom Ramirez has been an employee for 23 years and said he’s anticipating getting emotional on the final day of business.
“We have people that come in, we know them by first name, they know us," Ramirez said. "They call us by first name, too. We treat everybody like family, whether you’ve been here for years or whether you’ve just been coming in, we treat everybody like family."
Yoshimura said he looks forward to having more time in retirement, but will miss the people who have made his business so special.
“It's going to be a lot of highs and lows after all these years,” said Yoshimura.
What's next for Yoshimura? He said he plans to golf, and when the time comes, he might even go fishing.