When Kaitlin Uemura told her dad the sales numbers that Sairen, her boutique in the International District, had pulled in its first month, âHe was shocked⦠He was proud.â Perhaps most of all because Sairen was launched in December 2020.Â
Uemura had previously worked at Momo, a beloved Japantown boutique that closed at the end of Septemberâin part a victim of pandemic shutdowns and civil unrest, in part a happy retirement for owners Lei Ann Shiramizu and Tom Kleifgen. âThey kind of nudged me saying that, if I wanted to consider taking over the space, that might be a possibility,â she says. âWe just had dinner and were joking over sake, right?âÂ