'We Don't Want You Here!'
The sign was already up for Deja Blue, an adult gifts and novelties store on "A" Street SE. It was slated to open in a few weeks at the Thistle strip mall which is already home to several stores including Papa Murphy's Pizza, a dry cleaner, and a pet store. That plan changed with just a few hours of vocal protest Tuesday night.
Auburn neighbors who live nearby, and whose children go to school within just a few blocks of the store, lined the street Tuesday night with picket signs. They made their intent very clear.
"This does not belong here and they had better pressure their landlord to get him out of here," said Diane Esplin, talking about the other tenants in the strip mall.
Then what was expected to be a small meeting between the store owner and a few concerned residents turned into an intimidating confrontation, with adult store owner Paul Chung, an Asian immigrant, surrounded and questioned by over a hundred protesters.
"We don't want you here," someone shouted from the crowd. "We want your sign down in three days and we want you out of our neighborhood."
Chung, obviously intimidated, confused, and at times in tears, spoke through an interpreter.
"He is surprised," said Samuel Park. "And he thinks that we have a problem here."
The problem for him was that the neighbors said they would not go away, would not stop their protest until he gave them an answer.
The crowd finally agreed to give him a week to decide. But then, minutes later, Chung and his interpreter approached reporters to say he had already reached his decision.
"These Auburn people," he said through the interpreter, "I guess are not ready for the store yet. I decide not to open it.."
Chung says he decided it wasn't worth the trouble. Now he is negotiating with the strip mall owner to terminate his lease. Mall management indicated that is something it would be willing to do. Other business owners in the strip mall also expressed their strong desire that the adult store go somewhere else.
"I feel good. We achieved a good thing," said Diane Esplin when she learned of the sudden decision. "We protected our children."
But others outside Auburn aren't so elated. In a terse email response to the KOMO story, Jim Broe of Bellevue wrote: "I was just sickened by what I witnessed on your 11:00 broadcast tonight, as so-called Americans threatened and cajoled a man out of his business, Deja BLUE, in Auburn. Obviously, this business had met the criteria for LEGAL operation and had received his business license, etc. To have people state "We don't want you here!" as if they had a legitimate choice, angers me to no end."
Meanwhile, Chung plans to continue with his other business at the strip mall. He also owns a Teriyaki restaurant just a few doors down.