Japanese restaurant says sayonara

Kiyoji's Sapporo International closes Saturday after 16 years

Kiyoji Miyamoto appeared resigned.

He sat in a chair at the restaurant he's operated in Moses Lake since 1987, cigarette in hand, talking about his decision to close at the end of the business day come Saturday, and he appeared resigned to the fact.

"Not enough business," Miyamoto said. "The economy is not generating. In other words, it may be generating, but too many eating establishments for the population of Moses Lake."

Miyamoto said that the business has been trying to do something different for about a year, but the decision to close has been less than a month.

"It's not going to work," he said. "I don't want to die, push myself … It takes a lot, when a restaurant opens up, people move. For a town of this size, when a restaurant opens up, everybody goes there for a while. "

It leaves the other restaurants having to keep up, he said.

"The economy of Moses Lake is based on farm, agricultural," he said. "I hear they're going to be doing great this year, which is good news. But I can't wait for that good news to come in two months or three months."

Miyamoto said that there are more than 30 eating establishments in Moses Lake by his count.

"That's a lot," he said. "Of course I do get a few out of state people, but you know 30 eating establishments divided by … 20,000 (residents of the area) is not enough to keep everybody in the black."

Miyamoto said that another manufacturing industry needs to come into the area. While hospitality and retail businesses are important, manufacturing businesses are the money source, he said.

Miyamoto has been a resident of Moses Lake for 30 years. He was an instructor for local law enforcement officers for two years through Big Bend Community College, teaching a self defense class when he arrived in the area. Upon moving to Moses Lake for good, he owned a restaurant at Penn Plaza for four years, and before that he worked for South Shore, Perkins and Smitty's Pancake Place.

He said he has no clue what he's going to do next, but called Moses Lake his permanent home with his wife and children.

"I'm not going to get out of this restaurant business, I know that," he said. "That's the thing I know."

Miyamoto said he might be able to bottle and sell his house dressing and teriyaki sauce, or lend his bilingual abilities to help international companies with import and export business.

One reason Miyamoto is waiting to close until Saturday at 10 p.m. is to afford customers to use any gift certificates that they might have.

"This community was good to me; I have a lot of followers," he said. "I have a lot of supporters and very close, close friends who had a trust in me, so I cannot neglect those appreciation(s). Maybe I don't have enough time to say thank you or anything, but this is a good opportunity to rethink, regroup, do something in that capacity."

He also plans to do some of the activities that running a business does not allow time for, like hunting and fishing, he said.

The Kiyoji's building will go back to the creditor and the government, he said.

Kiyoji's has 14 employees, including Miyamoto and his wife, Cindy. Miyamoto said that he told them of his intentions to close at a meeting on Sunday.

Waitress Jennifer Melbye said she just started to work at Kiyoji's during summer break from Washington State University, where she is a senior majoring in psychology. She also worked at the establishment for a year and a half when she was in high school.

"I just found out; it kind of made me sick to my stomach," she said of the closing. "It's sad; I'm upset about it. I have to go back to school soon anyways, but just coming back here to eat on the weekends, I'll miss that. It's also a good job to have in the summer."

Cook Jared Hill said he'd been working at Kiyoji's for about six months.

"I was kind of waiting for it but I'm not too worried about it," Hill said. "It's not a big deal. Kind of sad, though. I like working here. (Kiyoji) has helped me quite a bit."

Longtime customer Lee Bifano was visibly upset by the news. He's been eating at Kiyoji's since it opened in its original incarnation in Pen Plaza, at least two or three times a week, he said.

"I don't like it, really, but what can you do?" Bifano said. "Like I told Cindy (Miyamoto), I don't know where I'm going to go to get something to eat. Before, I could always go like, to another place to get something to eat. But when I wanted a meal, I'd come down here … I hope Kiyoji's just going on vacation, a two or three month vacation. That'd be nice, but I understand why he's closing. I don't blame him."