Rain-covered Tote Originally uploaded by bradmohr

Seattle leads the world in some peculiar categories. Now there's yet another grocery home delivery service operating here as Full Circle Farm has announced it has fully launched a to-your-door service, joining national players like Safeway and Spud and the Seattle-only experiment Amazon Fresh on the roster of businesses that will bring bread and potatoes right to you.

Getting the goods at your home -- vs. picking them up at a central drop point -- will cost you 4 bucks on top of the cost of your groceries.

Here's the announcement about the new service from Full Circle:

Full Circle Farm, a leading organic produce and artisan food provider, today announced the launch of its home delivery service – a move that will make fresh, organic produce more accessible to thousands of consumers throughout the Puget Sound region.

 

“We recognize our customers’ increasing desire to be directly connected to the people who produce their food, to have variety and choice, and to have reliable and convenient options,” said Andrew Stout, Full Circle’s founder and owner. “Expanding our service offerings to include home delivery will make fresh, organic goods even more accessible and convenient to customers with busy schedules. With home delivery, Full Circle customers can now wake up in the morning and find farm-fresh produce and other artisan foods waiting on their doorstep.”

 

Full Circle’s success is built on working with regional partners to provide personalized, convenient options for customers who want to directly support local farmers and/or environmentally sustainable businesses. Full Circle extends the traditional community supported agriculture (CSA) approach by delivering direct to the home and giving customers greater ability to pick and choose the products they receive throughout the year.   

 

Full Circle subscribers in the Puget Sound area can now schedule weekly or every-other week deliveries directly to their home.  Through the Full Circle website (www.fullcirclefarm.com) customers are provided with a selection of fresh produce items that they can accept as is, or customize to their specific preferences. Additionally, customers can add organic and artisan grocery items from partners such as Theo Chocolate, Grounds for Change (coffee), Choice Organic Teas, Blue Bird Grains and Moon Valley Honey.

 

The latest partner to join Full Circle’s boxes is The Essential Baking Company, which will provide artisan organic breads and other baked products.

 

“The Essential Baking Company is excited to extend its service directly to customers by becoming part of the Full Circle Farm family,” said George DePasquale, founder of The Essential Baking Company. “We applaud Full Circle Farm’s commitment to making quality, organic food widely accessible and to working with sustainable businesses focused on healthy goods for our planet and our bodies.”

 

“We are very pleased to partner with The Essential Baking Company to distribute their wonderful European style artisan breads to our customers,” said Andrew Stout.

 

Despite the economic downturn, Full Circle has continued to enjoy strong growth in both revenue and customers. Full Circle’s subscription delivery service currently boasts more than 8,000 active members, driving more than 4,500 orders per week. In November, Full Circle expanded its base of operations with the purchase of 72 acres of historic Sammamish Valley farmland preserved by King County’s Farmland Preservation Program; with the addition Full Circle now has more than 400 acres of total farmland under its management.

 

Full Circle works with a variety of businesses and more than 30 farms to deliver farm values in a box. Full Circle and its partners share a commitment to nutritious food, a healthy environment and sustainable communities. With the addition of home delivery service, the company plans to deepen its relationship with its partners across the region and around the world -- fostering sustainable business practices and customer satisfaction.

 

About Full Circle Farms

 

Established in 1996 by Andrew Stout and Wendy Munroe, Full Circle Farm is a fast-growing Pacific Northwest company and national leader of the good food movement. Full Circle provides healthy and organically grown food -- including growing more than 125 varieties of certified organic, fruits, vegetables and herbs -- to a broad base of retail and commercial customers throughout Western Washington and across Alaska. For information visit: www.fullcirclefarm.com.

Artist rendition of Joule development (Essex Broadway llc)

It may well be that a huge player is about to upset the grocery store balance of power on Capitol Hill.

But it won't be Whole Foods.

In October, CHS learned that a large grocery store chain was considering opening on Broadway when the Joule mixed-use development is completed late next year.

Now we have learned that the "natural" and organic grocery giant will not be opening its fourth Seattle store any time soon and that Joule is still on the hunt for a big name retailer to lead its commercial offerings.

"There's no plans for a new Seattle store in 2010," Suzanne Strick, Whole Foods marketing coordinator for the Pacific Northwest, told CHS. "It's a constant evolution dependent on many factors including how our stores in the area are doing. But there are no new leases planned."

When we talked to her after the rumor surfaced, Jennifer Severson of Real Retail, the firm charged with finding tenants for the Joule's retails space, said that the grocery giant had come calling. "They are interested in the project but we don't have anything signed yet," Severson told us at the time.

But when we talked to her last week, Severson sounded less optimistic. "The Whole Foods thing is not going well. Those type of deals take time." Severson also informed us she was leaving Real Retail to join another brokerage.

Even if Whole Foods were to change its plans and make the decision to open another Seattle store, there's no way for the company to match up with Joule's timeline, Strick said. "It's not just as easy as putting together a basic grocery store. The services we offer, those take a lot of development. This isn't a six month process."

Whole Foods recently opened its third Seattle store in the Interbay neighborhood. A project that would have brought the Austin-based grocer to West Seattle is tied up in a legal mess and has stalled construction on a site now dubbed 'Hole Foods.'

The opening of Whole Foods on Broadway would have been a significant reawakening of an area of the Hill that has been fading as the large construction projects of Joule and the Brix condos across the street take shape. Some will recall that the location where Joule is being built already hosted a grocery store in the past: Here is video of the demolition of the old QFC that used to call the corner home.

With 29,000 square feet of planned retail space, the Joule development will bring radical change to north Broadway when it opens in fall 2010. "There's 30,000 feet of retail in this project. Having a tenant that is a big draw is desirable for everybody," Severson said.

(Essex Broadway llc)

Meanwhile, the QFC inside the Broadway Market has been upgraded from its old Fred Meyer days. The produce section is expanded and the company hosts wine and beer tastings that you won't find in the typical QFC across the state. Broadway's second QFC down in Pike/Pine is more typical of the chain's offerings. Both stores are infamous for their near-daily reports of shoplifting. There are also Safeways at 15th and John and 23rd and Madison and Madison's Trader Joe's also keeps Capitol Hill pantries well stocked.

As for Capitol Hill's indie markets, there is only one large player left. Madison Market celebrated its 30-year anniversary last October. 15th Ave's Rainbow Grocery went under in spring 2007.

With the removal of Whole Foods as a player, Real Retail has its work cut out for it getting a big name in the game in time to make the fall grand opening:

The Joule on North Broadway is a new mixed-use residential development and retail project currently under construction. Located on North Capitol Hill directly across the street from Jerry Traunfeld’s brilliant new Poppy restaurant, The Joule is ideally situated to capture some of Seattle’s wealthiest and most distinguished neighborhoods while embracing its vibrant and eclectic street life. The Joule will have over 29,000 square feet of retail space with 295 residential units and 65 parking spaces dedicated to retail customers. The space will be delivered to Tenants in Spring/Summer 2010 with a grand opening in Fall 2010.

What businesses will be at the center of that grand opening remains an open question.

Miles of Aisles, originally uploaded by sea turtle.

It's rumor season on Capitol Hill. Last week, it was Elliott Bay Book Company pondering a Capitol Hill move.

Now, CHS has gathered rumors about a massive new Capitol Hill grocery store being planned that will likely dominate the Hill and command the lion's share of your Capitol Hill grocery dollars. A person in the real-estate industry with knowledge of the situation confirmed that a major player in the local grocery scene is considering a new Capitol Hill home and has a location picked out in the heart of the Hill.

If the project comes to fruition, it will be a significant development for Capitol Hill. The new store would join a crowded Capitol Hill grocery environment with no clear leader. The QFC inside the Broadway Market has been upgraded from its old Fred Meyer days. The produce section is expanded and the company hosts wine and beer tastings that you won't find in the typical QFC across the state. Broadway's second QFC down in Pike/Pine is more typical of the chain's offerings. Both stores are infamous for their near-daily reports of shoplifting. Meanwhile, there are Safeways at 15th and John and 23rd and Madison and Madison's Trader Joe's also keeps Capitol Hill pantries well stocked. As for Capitol Hill's indie markets, there is only one large player left. Madison Market celebrated its 30-year anniversary last October. 15th Ave's Rainbow Grocery went under in spring 2007.

The new store would likely eclipse all of these existing grocery providers when it opens in 2010. CHS is working to get more details before we reveal the rumored name and location. Please add anything you've heard in the comments or send e-mail to chs@capitolhillseattle.com

There's an empty storefront on Broadway. The stuffed-to-the-gills convenience store at the corner of Harrison and Broadway is out of business as of September 13 according to a paper sign hanging from its glass door. Broadway Grocery didn't carry a lot of things you might include in the 'grocery' category but it was a pretty typical convenience store. Anybody going to miss it?