Tacoma teriyaki shop suffers from sheriff's 'misunderstanding'

TACOMA, Wash. — A Tacoma teriyaki restaurant suffered after a misunderstanding between the Skagit County Sheriff's Office and a Sedro-Woolley teriyaki shop.

On Thursday, the Skagit Valley teriyaki restaurant became the target of boycotts and threats after the county’s sheriff wrote a Facebook post saying his deputies — and other law enforcement officers — were asked not to eat there.

Those boycotts and threats overflowed to restaurants in other local shops with the same name — including Lucky Teriyaki in Tacoma.

Samuel Choe helps manage his family's restaurant. Typically, he said works long days — from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

That's why he said he was confused Thursday when someone called the store to tell him that he was a bad person and that he should shut the restaurant down.

" I had no clue what they were talking about," Choe said.

Over the course of the day, Choe said the store received more than 60 similar calls. The store's Facebook page received the same treatment.

Choe said some people cussed him out. One person threatened to rob the store. Another threatened to shoot him in the face.

"All types of craziness," Choe said.

He also received an unusual number of calls from customers who placed orders but never came to pick them up.

The restaurant had about six absentee orders Thursday night. Choe said the store usually receives maybe two a month.

The father and son who own Lucky Teriyaki in Sedro Woolley insist the whole issue was the result of a very big misunderstanding due to poor English skills.

The family who owns Lucky Teriyaki in Tacoma said business at their store is healthy and that threats and calls related to the Facebook post threats have lessened.

Choe said Yelp and Google reviews, however, still mar the restaurant's reputation. Choe hopes that as soon as he gets a bit of time off, he can contact the companies and attempt to remove the mistaken reviews.

Below is the original Facebook post from the sheriff's office.

Cox Media Group