Frank W. Louie, Restaurant Owner

From taxi driver to grocery-store owner to restaurant entrepreneur, Frank W. Louie became a known figure in Seattle, particularly in the city's International District.

``He was one of the old-timers in the International District. He was very well-known,'' said his son, Don, who worked with the elder Louie in most of his business ventures.

Louie, who owned and operated Frank's Superette at 25th Avenue South and South Jackson Street 30 years, died Feb. 1 at the age of 76.

A funeral will be at 1 p.m.today at Butterworth-Manning-Ashmore Mortuary, with burial in Lake View Cemetery.

Born in Canton, China, Louie immigrated to California at the age of 15. He later relocated to Fargo, N.D., where he worked with his father in a restaurant business.

In the late 1930s, Louie moved to Seattle and started driving for International Cab Co. He was drafted into the military and served in the Philippines during World War II, said his son.

After his military discharge, he returned to Seattle and to the taxi business.

In 1949, Louie bought the grocery store on the southeast corner of 25th South and South Jackson. Three years later, he bought the Foodway Supermarket about a half-mile away, at 20th Avenue South and South Jackson Street. He sold it in 1955.

In the early 1960s, he bought Modern Pool Recreation, an International District coffee shop and later added to his enterprises the Silver Dragon Restaurant, located above the street-level hotel at Seventh Avenue South and South King Street.

Louie owned the Golden Palace Restaurant in Factoria from 1979 until his retirement in 1988, when the restaurant was closed to make way for a fast-food restaurant.

One of the elder Louie's great loves was horse racing, his son said, and he had been a racehorse owner in the early 1970s.

Louie was a past president of the Bing Kung Tong in the International District and a member of the Wong Family Association.

``He understood how to deal with people. He was pretty well-liked,'' said Don.

Besides his son, Louie is survived by his wife, Margie; a brother, Arthur; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren, all of Seattle.