Restaurant readies for return

Two years after fire, I Luv Teriyaki hopes to open again this spring

Owner Don Lo, daughter Ruby, and his wife, Eva Lo, stand outside the new I Luv Teriyaki on 4th Avenue South in Georgetown. He hopes to reopen the restaurant this spring after fire destroyed the old one.

By Steve Lannen

In the early hours of March 3, 2023, Dong “Don” Lo’s phone rang. The voice said his Georgetown restaurant was on fire. He didn’t believe it. It must be a bad joke, he thought as he drove down from Lynnwood.

When he arrived at I Luv Teriyaki, 6500 4th Ave S, reality hit him like a sledgehammer. A fire started in the kitchen and destroyed the building. Charred beams stood where the bright red fiberglass roof was only hours before. Investigators ruled the fire’s cause accidental.

Now, more than two years later, Lo hopes to reopen by the end of April pending approval of permits. He is eager to welcome back Georgetown residents and workers who became regulars despite another teriyaki shop across the street and another around the corner.

“I just want people to like it,” he said.

Immediately after the fire, Lo and wife, Eva Lo, thought they could clean up, fix the roof and reopen a few months later. Soon, it became clear the damage was too severe to quickly reopen. In the ensuing months, thieves ripped copper pipes out of the walls and “even the sink!” he said. Vandals graffitied the walls inside and out. Someone illegally dumped a large amount of trash on the site. Before issuing a demolition permit in December 2023, the city fined them $19,000, Eva Lo said.

It has been a challenging, depressing two years, yet walking away wasn’t an option. “We own it. We have a mortgage. We don’t have a choice,” Lo said. So instead of serving food, he plunged into contractor schedules, building permits and soil studies. He is considering art and color schemes for the new place and when to hire staff.

“We have learned a lot,” Lo said. “So next time, maybe it would be easier. … but I don’t want a next time!”

On the bright side, there has been more time for family. A second daughter arrived in 2024 and Lo attends his 6-year-old’s school events. He also visited the Cascades Mountains. That never happened when the restaurant was open.

After arriving from Seoul, South Korea, in 2005, Lo managed a sushi and teriyaki restaurant in the University District. Depending on student customers, he tired of the academic breaks that always slowed business to a trickle. When he learned about the teriyaki shop in Georgetown close to major roads with year-round customers, he bought it in 2018. The restaurant was first a Kentucky Fried Chicken in the 1970s and then a teriyaki restaurant for decades.

Despite his Korean origin, Lo has no interest in serving Korean food. The preparation and seasoning for Korean food is very different from teriyaki. “It’s a lot more work … and a lot of side dishes,” he said.

When I Luv Teriyaki opens again, Lo will begin with a smaller menu featuring the popular classics, such as spicy teriyaki chicken and katsu. He plans to slowly introduce more dishes. Sushi is a future possibility. But there is an unexpected one he is most excited to offer: pasta with red and white sauces.

“If a family comes in with a kid, they might not like teriyaki beef, but they will like pasta. My (6-year-old) daughter, all the time she eats pasta,” Lo said.