There has never been a grand, overarching plan guiding Lily Wu’s life. Indeed, from her childhood in a small village in northeast China to her standing as one of Seattle’s rising-star restaurant owners, everything has unfolded step by step, but whenever a chance came along, she never hesitated to take it.

“I come from a very poor family, so I still feel that I have nothing to lose,” Wu says. “That encourages me, and I feel I’m brave enough. It’s okay to lose everything, to restart.”

That persistence is what brought her to Flushing, New York, in 2006, on a student visa. It then took her west to Seattle, where she worked in housekeeping for hotels while receiving government assistance. Eventually, Wu’s big ideas about introducing new flavors to the local dining scene saw her return to her home country, where she learned how to make traditional biang biang noodles.

Today, those self-taught techniques draw rave reviews at Xi’an Noodles, which has three locations in the University District, Westlake, and Bellevue. Last September, Wu opened her fifth restaurant—a second Happy Crab outpost, in Ballard, with beautiful waterfront views of Shilshole Bay. There, guests can savor a Cajun seafood boil with Chinese flair, and at a relatively affordable price too (the jambalaya special is $10).

Achieving your dreams is never without hardship, and as an immigrant woman, Wu has faced challenges, working many times harder just to be seen. Years spent dealing with depression and doubts that made her want to put her restaurants up for sale. Finding reliable staff during a labor shortage, in an industry where drug and alcohol abuse has a firm grip. Studying finance, labor law, restaurant management, and food safety to make sure her businesses were compliant and built on fairness.

It took time for Wu to surround herself with good people, but once she found a solid support system—and focused on personal growth—she achieved a new level of success and is now looking to pay it forward. In the future, she plans to open her Happy Crab kitchen through a program for professionals just starting their careers.

“My goal with Chef Night is to create a platform for young people or anyone who dreams of starting their own business—a stage where they can showcase their talent, gain experience, and build confidence,” she explains. “I’d love to welcome anyone who’s passionate about food and entrepreneurship to join, learn, and take their first steps towards their own dreams.”

Already, Wu has had a positive impact on more people than she ever thought possible: 70+ employees make up her extended family, many of whom have been with her for close to a decade.

“Their loyalty means everything to me, and I’m deeply grateful for those who have walked this long road by my side,” she says. “After the pandemic, many restaurants didn’t survive. But we did. We rebuilt, we grew, and we stood back up. To me, influence isn’t about how big your company is; it’s about how many lives you uplift and how much integrity you carry along the way.”