The Mysterious Departure of Kennewick’s Cafe Proprietor
A successful local farmer and cafe owner disappears overnight, leaving behind unpaid accounts and rumors of a business venture gone sour.
Johny the Jap, who has been a conspicuous figure around town for the past year, has disappeared, and several business men of the city are longing for his return, with balances on the wrong side of their ledgers. Johny was more than ordinarily intelligent, and took the ways of the white men with a true western spirit, and our business men showed a desire to help him along. Last fall, he opened the Kennewick Cafe, and under his management it became one of the popular eating houses of the city. The restaurant, however, was only a side issue with him. His main occupation was fruit and truck farming, and had he carried out his plans, judging from the start he had made, he would have been one of our largest producers. He had several tracts leased in strawberries and other small fruits. Last week, he sold some of his holdings and went away ostensibly to secure Japanese berry pickers. This is the last seen or heard of him.
“Johny is more than ordinarily intelligent for a Jap, and took the ways of the white men with a true western spirit.”
This item reflects the precarious, often suspicious status of Japanese immigrants in early 20th-century Washington, where individuals were often judged through the prism of their economic utility and perceived 'assimilation' to white business standards. The suspicion directed at 'Johny' highlights the era's xenophobia, as his private movements were treated as public liabilities by the town's business class.
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