Fire, burglary won't keep iconic Seattle lounge from reopening
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SEATTLE -- An iconic Seattle business was hit with a double whammy of a devastating fire followed by a costly burglary.
The Rickshaw Restaurant and Lounge is well known for its karaoke and fortune telling, but no one could have predicted the string of bad luck that came this year.
Owner Ginger Luke said the Rickshaw has legions of loyal customers. But Luke has had to turn them away while she and her team rebuilds. The lounge has been closed since March, when a grease fire engulfed the kitchen and caused $25,000 in damage.
Undeterred, Luke and her staff renovated and set July 7 as the bar's grand reopening date.
It was a celebration that never happened.
On the eve of the reopening, Luke said someone broke in and looted the refurbished restaurant, making off with $15,000 worth of copper wiring and leaving little evidence behind.
"These people were very smart. They knew what they were doing," Luke said. "The first thing people said was, 'Oh, we have cameras. We should be able to get them.' We go upstairs and the cameras are all missing."
Despite the many setbacks, Luke refuses to give. She's been through much worse, including a near-fatal armed-robbery attempt 30-years ago.
"I've been a victim of crime. I was shot in an armed robbery three times," she said. "Once in the shoulder, once in the arm. (it) missed my heart by a millimeter."
No matter what she's had to deal with, Luke said now isn't the time for her or the Rickshaw to call it quits.
"I've had a lot of good things happen," she said. "The bad, the good things in life have outweighed them. I think life is about being positive."
Luke said insurance will not cover the recent copper theft and police say they don't have any suspects in the case.
Information about how to donate to the Rickshaw is available here.
The Rickshaw Restaurant and Lounge is well known for its karaoke and fortune telling, but no one could have predicted the string of bad luck that came this year.
Owner Ginger Luke said the Rickshaw has legions of loyal customers. But Luke has had to turn them away while she and her team rebuilds. The lounge has been closed since March, when a grease fire engulfed the kitchen and caused $25,000 in damage.
Undeterred, Luke and her staff renovated and set July 7 as the bar's grand reopening date.
It was a celebration that never happened.
On the eve of the reopening, Luke said someone broke in and looted the refurbished restaurant, making off with $15,000 worth of copper wiring and leaving little evidence behind.
"These people were very smart. They knew what they were doing," Luke said. "The first thing people said was, 'Oh, we have cameras. We should be able to get them.' We go upstairs and the cameras are all missing."
Despite the many setbacks, Luke refuses to give. She's been through much worse, including a near-fatal armed-robbery attempt 30-years ago.
"I've been a victim of crime. I was shot in an armed robbery three times," she said. "Once in the shoulder, once in the arm. (it) missed my heart by a millimeter."
No matter what she's had to deal with, Luke said now isn't the time for her or the Rickshaw to call it quits.
"I've had a lot of good things happen," she said. "The bad, the good things in life have outweighed them. I think life is about being positive."
Luke said insurance will not cover the recent copper theft and police say they don't have any suspects in the case.
Information about how to donate to the Rickshaw is available here.
Maybe if they hadn't had to spend so much money on attorney's for their pot growing operation bust they might have had it to replace the copper wiring
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finallyhomerescue.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/support-your-local-drug-dealer-buy-a-dog-from-gingers-death-row-pet-rescue/
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Why didn't anyone do a story about that? Or about their animal abuse, cruelty & neglect arrest & conviction.
Here is another story with documentation
finallyhomerescue.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/gingers-pet-rescue-what-is-the-truth/
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I am just an average citizen, & I found all of this by myself because of the lies this woman told others about me, she has almost cost me my life & has cost the life of one of my animals, possibly more. When are you going to report the TRUTH?
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You know....those Chinese are tough,they can manage that and have this restaurant fixed up and
reopened soon !
This lady is get awesome, she runs Ginger's Deathrow dog rescue. I hope she can the business up and running soon.
Crikey talk about 9 lives . . . Ginger here's wishing you some good luck for a change and re-think your fortune teller's capabilities, may wanna change that up a bit.