GEE AND URSULA

Owner of Seattle’s Kona Kitchen on struggles after losing parents to COVID-19

Jul 10, 2020, 5:54 AM

Kona Kitchen...

Kona Kitchen. (Facebook)

(Facebook)

Restaurants across Washington have struggled to stay afloat during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. For Seattle’s Kona Kitchen, the pandemic hit home when both owner Elizabeth Mar and her husband Robert passed away in March after contracting the virus.

WA restaurants prepare for new challenges presented by dine-in rules

Kona Kitchen is now in the hands of Elizabeth and Robert’s daughter, Angela Okumoto, who has watched the local community rally around the popular restaurant.

“I was completely overwhelmed by the support from the community,” she told KIRO Radio’s Gee and Ursula Show. “It definitely helped initially, just getting through the time and knowing that so many people cared for us in the business and my parents — it’s been amazing.”

Okumoto hopes that if people take one thing from her family’s tragic experience, it’s that “it will hit home,” and that “maybe they will all take (the virus) seriously.”

“When it actually hits home and it’s someone as close as a family member, it becomes real,” she said.

Ivar’s president expects ‘new trends’ to stick at restaurants post-COVID

In the meantime, she’s working to ensure that both of Kona Kitchen’s locations — one in Seattle, and one in Lynnwood — are able to keep their customers and employees as safe as possible. That includes updated floor plans to encourage physical distancing, minimizing the amount of customers inside at any given moment, and adhering to a statewide mask mandate for all customers and workers.

“We’re not just going to rush into it and risk something tragic happening to somebody else,” she vowed.

Listen to the Gee and Ursula Show weekday mornings from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Gee and Ursula Show

Gee and Ursula

Photo: Yale players, including guard Yassine Gharram, center, celebrate with fans after their 78-76...

Julia Dallas

Gee and Ursula: Idaho band turns ‘Van-Dogs’ as they rep. Yale for March Madness

Yale took down Auburn in a major upset during March Madness. But, they might've not been able to do it without the help of a marching band.

2 days ago

boeing negligence...

Ursula Reutin

Ursula: Boeing has finally taken a step in the right direction

Boeing CEO David Calhoun acknowledged that the mid-air blowout of an Alaska Airlines door panel was a watershed.

2 days ago

Image: Photo of "The Ascent" by Larry Anderson...

Julia Dallas

‘Gee and Ursula’: Bonney Lake mayor search reveals ‘tea’ on candidate

The City of Bonney Lake is searching for a new mayor after the former mayor accepted a job with the Puyallup Tribe of Indians.

9 days ago

Both President Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump have locked the nomination for their respectiv...

Bill Kaczaraba

Medved: ‘People didn’t really know (or care) there was a primary’

Medved believes that people are unhappy with their choices during this presidential cycle.

12 days ago

Photo: The homeless encampment outside city hall is being moved around Burien to another home at Do...

Ursula Reutin

Ursula: The Burien homeless crisis highlights an even bigger problem

Because of the lack of alternatives, the King County Sheriff has ordered her deputies to not enforce a camping ban in Burien.

15 days ago

court gavel...

Bill Kaczaraba

Gee & Ursula: Should judges be elected or appointed?

Gee & Ursula take on an age-old question: Should judges be elected or appointed? This comes after a case involving Judge Pooja Vaddadi.

21 days ago

Owner of Seattle’s Kona Kitchen on struggles after losing parents to COVID-19