Seattle, WA
The Restaurateur: Lily Wu
There has never been a grand, overarching plan guiding Lily Wu’s life. Indeed, from her childhood in a small village in northeast China to her standing as one of Seattle’s rising-star restaurant owners, everything has unfolded step by step, but whenever a chance came along, she never hesitated to take it.
“I come from a very poor family, so I still feel that I have nothing to lose,” Wu says. “That encourages me, and I feel I’m brave enough. It’s okay to lose everything, to restart.”
That persistence is what brought her to Flushing, New York, in 2006, on a student visa. It then took her west to Seattle, where she worked in housekeeping for hotels while receiving government assistance. Eventually, Wu’s big ideas about introducing new flavors to the local dining scene saw her return to her home country, where she learned how to make traditional biang biang noodles.
Today, those self-taught techniques draw rave reviews at Xi’an Noodles, which has three locations in the University District, Westlake, and Bellevue. Last September, Wu opened her fifth restaurant—a second Happy Crab outpost, in Ballard, with beautiful waterfront views of Shilshole Bay. There, guests can savor a Cajun seafood boil with Chinese flair, and at a relatively affordable price too (the jambalaya special is $10).
Achieving your dreams is never without hardship, and as an immigrant woman, Wu has faced challenges, working many times harder just to be seen. Years spent dealing with depression and doubts that made her want to put her restaurants up for sale. Finding reliable staff during a labor shortage, in an industry where drug and alcohol abuse has a firm grip. Studying finance, labor law, restaurant management, and food safety to make sure her businesses were compliant and built on fairness.
It took time for Wu to surround herself with good people, but once she found a solid support system—and focused on personal growth—she achieved a new level of success and is now looking to pay it forward. In the future, she plans to open her Happy Crab kitchen through a program for professionals just starting their careers.
“My goal with Chef Night is to create a platform for young people or anyone who dreams of starting their own business—a stage where they can showcase their talent, gain experience, and build confidence,” she explains. “I’d love to welcome anyone who’s passionate about food and entrepreneurship to join, learn, and take their first steps towards their own dreams.”
Already, Wu has had a positive impact on more people than she ever thought possible: 70+ employees make up her extended family, many of whom have been with her for close to a decade.
“Their loyalty means everything to me, and I’m deeply grateful for those who have walked this long road by my side,” she says. “After the pandemic, many restaurants didn’t survive. But we did. We rebuilt, we grew, and we stood back up. To me, influence isn’t about how big your company is; it’s about how many lives you uplift and how much integrity you carry along the way.”
Olympians Hilary Knight, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Erin Ambrose have all been placed on long-term injured reserve by their PWHL clubs after sustaining injuries during the Milan Cortina Games.
Kraken sign forwards Ben Meyers, Ryan Winterton to extensions
Knight, a five-time Olympian and captain of the United States team that won gold, will be out of the lineup for the Seattle Torrent indefinitely after sustaining a lower-body injury in Italy, the team announced Friday.
Knight had three goals and three assists for the U.S. at Milan Cortina including a goal in the 2-1 overtime win over Canada in the final. She has three goals and seven assists during the current PWHL season.
USA comes back to beat Canada in OT for women’s hockey gold
“While we’re eager to be at full strength and recognize the anticipation of Hilary’s return, we’re focused on putting her and our team in the best position for a playoff push,” Torrent general manager Meghan Turner said in a statement.
Minnesota Frost captain Coyne Schofield was placed on long-term injured reserve on Friday retroactive to Feb. 19 with an upper-body injury. Coyne Schofield scored three goals for the United States during the Olympics.
“I am incredibly proud of all our Frost Olympians who demonstrated true excellence on the world stage,” general manager Melissa Caruso said in a statement. “We are fully committed to supporting Kendall throughout her recovery, and our medical team will be working diligently to help her prepare for her return to the ice.”
The moves by the Torrent and Frost came a day after the Montreal Victoire announced that Ambrose has been placed on long-term injured reserve retroactive to Feb. 19 for a lower‑body injury suffered while representing Canada in the gold medal game. Ambrose had a pair of assists at the Olympics.
The Victoire’s Marie-Philip Poulin, Canada’s captain in Italy, was listed as day-to-day with an Olympics-related injury.
Victoire general manager Daniele Sauvageau said of the team’s Olympians “we are confident that they will be back in the lineup in the near future.”
PWHL influence apparent at Olympics with OT medal games
SEATTLE — Firefighters are responding to a car that drove into a ditch near Lake Washington Boulevard East and East Foster Island Road on Friday, according to the Seattle Fire Department.
Crews arriving at the scene reported that three people are trapped inside the car.
Firefighters were working to stabilize the car and get everyone out safely. Crews worked to remove the roof of the car to get everyone out, according to fire officials.
Authorities are urging the public to avoid the area while emergency crews respond.
The crash occurred in the area between the Montlake and Broadmoor neighborhoods, and traffic can be expected as emergency crews respond.
No additional information was immediately available.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Dylan Holloway had a hat trick and added an assist in his return from a sprained ankle, Joel Hofer made 23 saves and the St. Louis Blues came off the Olympic break to beat the Seattle Kraken 5-1 on Thursday night.
St. Louis Blues 5, Seattle Kraken 1: Box score
Jordan Kyrou and Holloway — activated from injured reserve before the game — scored in a 23-second span early in the second period to give St. Louis a 3-1 lead.
Pius Suter added a goal and two assists to help the Blues end a three-game losing streak.
Holloway completed St. Louis’ first hat trick of the season with 3:01 left, scoring into an empty net for his 11th of the season.
Kaapo Kakko tied it at 1 for Seattle in the first period, and Philipp Grubauer stopped 26 shots. The Kraken were coming off a 4-1 loss in Dallas on Wednesday night.
Kyrou made it 2-1 at 1:12 of the second off a feed from Pavel Buchnevich on a break. Holloway poked the puck past Grubauer off a scramble at 1:35. Suter scored at 1:56 of the third.
St. Louis’ Cam Fowler appeared in his 1,100th game, becoming the 10th active defenseman in the NHL to reach the mark.
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