The popular Viet-Wah Asian Foods in Renton reopened one day after a fire, likely caused by an errant New Year’s firework explosion, damaged the store’s exterior.
The Viet-Wah Supermarket was founded in Seattle in 1981 by Duc Tran, a refugee from Vietnam who arrived in Seattle in 1976. The Seattle store, the anchor of Little Saigon for decades, closed at the end of September 2022. Tragically, on June 10 of this year, the vacant building was destroyed in a massive fire.
Viet-Wah expanded its footprint to Renton in 2016, settling on a site on Sunset Boulevard. The 16,000 square foot building had previously housed a Safeway store, then a St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop.
Duc Tran and his daughter Leeching Tran, who now serves as vice-president of Viet-Wah, rushed out to the Renton store shortly after midnight to inspect the fire damage and talk to firefighters on the scene. At the time, the store was closed and no one was injured.
Leeching Tran said, “Our reaction was, ‘Oh no! Not again!’ We tossed all the produce and decided to close for the day to clear out the smoke.”
Several years ago, Leeching took over management of the Viet-Wah company from her father, who is semi-retired. She said the Renton store serves a very diverse population, reflecting the neighborhood, which includes many Latinos and Filipinos. The store provides a product mix to suit their tastes. “Our customers tend to buy a little bit each time, but they come back.”
In contrast, she said, the Seattle store tended to draw regular customers who bought in bulk, resulting in fewer trips. Most of Viet-Wah’s former Seattle customers have not transferred their shopping habits over to the Renton store.
Will Viet-Wah ever reopen in Seattle?
Leeching, who serves on the board of directors of Friends of Little Sài Gòn, said she misses the iconic Seattle store where she grew up as a child, helping her father. She still comes into the neighborhood at least three to four times a week. And the Viet-Wah business office is there.
“The landscape of Little Saigon is changing,” Leeching Tran said. “We’re looking at different options. Nothing has come up. There is no physical space to occupy now. But I would like to come back. This is our home.”
