After 38 years, 'Mama' Saito to close doors of popular diner

The smoky-sweet smell of mackerel grilling on the stove wafts from the kitchen, draping the dining room and sticking to the clothes of loyal customers who always will carry a part of Koraku restaurant with them, even after it fades from the Chinatown International District lunch scene.

Owner-chef Sachiko Saito, forced out of the space where she has run her little Japanese restaurant for 38 years, has decided to retire instead of relocate.

When Koraku closes Oct. 31, it will be for the final time. In a neighborhood where trendy bubble-tea houses seem to be popping up at the rate of one a month, Koraku is conspicuous as a throwback — a sliver of a homespun diner with 10 barstools and three tables, where the house specialty of grilled mackerel (served with miso soup, rice and garnishes) sets you back $5.25.

Saito, 74, keeps her hair close-cropped and speaks little English. With the help of an interpreter, she said yesterday that her recipe for business longevity has more to do with how she treats her customers than what she feeds them.

"I have treated individual customers like children," Saito said. "The people who come in here feel like they are part of a family. They call me 'auntie' and 'mama.' "

But her food also has kept them coming back. While Koraku lays claim to its share of regulars, Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Kazuhiro Sasaki among them, the restaurant has subsisted with recognition as sparse as its menu, which boasts a mere 10 items. A Frommer's review of the restaurant, however, compared eating lunch at Koraku to "ducking into a back-street cafe in Japan."

"There's always a line to get in," said 21-year-old Monica Yen, living proof that Koraku's old-fashioned charms appeal to the younger set. "Good food appeals to all generations."

Vincent Woo, who runs Gossip, one of the first bubble-tea houses to open in the district, said his youthful band of employees eats at Koraku two or three times a week.

"It's like this food is more home-style," said Woo, 28. "A lot of international students who are here miss their families, and they come to Koraku to eat because it reminds them of home."

After finishing an early dinner there yesterday, Woo finessed his body around the tight passageway from the dining room to the kitchen to personally thank Saito for his meal, punctuating his gratitude with a respectful bow.

The restaurant occupies a narrow storefront on Sixth Avenue South, a half-block down from South Jackson Street. The landlord wants to remodel the space, converting it into an entrance leading to the upper floors, said Junko Yamamoto, Koraku's waitress. Saito has known about the restaurant's fate since April, but Yamamoto said Saito kept it to herself until a couple of months ago.

"It's been hard for her," Yamamoto said. "She's been crying a lot."

Saito, born in Tokyo, moved to the United States in 1960 and opened Koraku by herself five years later. She said she had no experience running a restaurant, but that her father "liked to eat and he used to take me all over to different restaurants — and I liked to cook, too."

The restaurant is decorated with pictures of her daughter, a retired dancer who lives in Bellevue. Saito lives in Mount Baker with three shih tzu dogs and three cats.

During yesterday's lunch rush, musical accompaniment was provided by Frank Sinatra crooning "Strangers in the Night," courtesy of an oldies AM radio station. Diners were young, old and in between, alone and in pairs, Asian and not. One read Isaac Asimov at the bar to kill time until his meal arrived.

Bob Montague stood outside the door, waiting for a table to shake loose. The Tacoma resident said he makes a special trip to Seattle about every two weeks to eat at Koraku.

"The food is good and the price is cheap," he said. "It reminds me of my mom's cooking."

Koraku's tables are clothed in discount-store vinyl. Barstools are upholstered in red vinyl and suffer the dips caused by years of customers who have settled in to get comfortable.

"Some of my customers are saying they want to find me a new place to reopen," said Saito, who is declining their offer.

Stuart Eskenazi: 206-464-2293 or seskenazi@seattletimes.com