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PCC grocery store, delayed by COVID-19 crisis, sets June opening date in Central District

(Image: PCC)

23rd and Union will have its new grocery store. After delays due to the coronavirus outbreak, PCC Community Markets says it will open June 17th in the Central District.

The Seattle-region cooperative chain also announced a new community partner for the soon to open store. “Like all PCC locations, the Central District store will serve more than just its members and shoppers. PCC is partnering with Byrd Barr Place, a beloved neighborhood institution, to address food and nutrition access needs in the community,” the announcement reads. “As the newest partner in PCC’s Food Bank Program, the Central District store will provide a range of quality groceries to support those who trust Byrd Barr Place to bring food to their tables.”

CHS broke the news in January that PCC was replacing the financially troubled New Seasons chain in the East Union mixed-use development on the northwest corner of 23rd and Union. The huge 18,000-square-foot space sat empty but ready for a new grocery tenant for more than a year. Despite its large footprint, the space is a little smaller than most PCC stores.

PCC said earlier this year that it was also still moving forward on its plans to join the long-delayed mixed-use development in Madison Valley on the site formerly home to City Peoples.

As part of its Central District opening, PCC held community meetings and neighborhood job fairs earlier this year. Company officials and CEO Cate Hardy met with a small group of neighbors and community groups last week as the project was first announced. Hardy told CHS that questions centered around jobs — about half of the new hires will come from the surrounding neighborhood, Hardy said — and the types of produce and products the store will carry. “As soon as we learned New Seasons was not going to be opened there, we moved to make sure the community would have access to our fresh produce and groceries,” Hardy said.

This week, PCC announced Hardy was stepping down to become CEO of The Wine Group, considered the second largest winemaker in the world.

PCC also acknowledged the ongoing outbreak in its announcement. “The new Central District store will adopt all the health and safety protocols of the other PCC stores in the area,” the announcement reads. PCC says the new store will include “signage encouraging social distancing” as well as plexiglass at check stands.

“All store staff are required to wear masks and it is highly encouraged for shoppers to do the same out of respect for the health and safety of the community,” they write.

Wednesday’s full announcement from PCC is below.

 PCC Community Markets (PCC) is honored to officially join Seattle’s Central District neighborhood on Wednesday, June 17. Located at 2230 E. Union St., the store marks the 14th location in the Puget Sound for PCC, one of Seattle’s original grocers and the largest community-owned food market in the U.S. To help reflect the spirit of the community, the new store will feature a local art installment and is partnering with Byrd Barr Place to provide ongoing food bank support.

Like all PCC locations, the Central District store will serve more than just its members and shoppers. PCC is partnering with Byrd Barr Place, a beloved neighborhood institution, to address food and nutrition access needs in the community. As the newest partner in PCC’s Food Bank Program, the Central District store will provide a range of quality groceries to support those who trust Byrd Barr Place to bring food to their tables.

“The doors aren’t even open yet, but PCC has already stepped in to help connect us with local farmers to get fresh produce to our clients during these challenging times,” said Andrea Caupain, Byrd Barr Place CEO. “Having a partner like this that we can rely on will have a meaningful impact in our community.”

Local artist, Jite Agbro, aims to help connect the fabric of the neighborhood’s rich history to a new composition of its current makeup with her installation, “The Form That It Takes.” Her installation consists of 20 panels, each depicting an abstracted image of a key location in the central area. The panels occupy the northwest corner of the 23rd and Union PCC store. “I hope the installation inspires people to reflect on and embrace the vibrant history of this area,” said Agbro.

Aligned with its commitment to community and providing a trusted shopping experience, every PCC location is focused on delivering fresh, quality products, including more than 7,000 organic items and just over 9,400 local products. More than 95 percent of PCC’s produce selection is organic; its fresh meats are 100 percent organic, non-GMO or grass fed; its fresh and frozen raw seafood is responsibly sourced as defined by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program; and, whenever possible, the co-op sources its products from local producers, farmers, ranchers and fishers. Using those same ingredients, PCC chefs make salads, soups, hot entrées and side dishes fresh from scratch daily onsite in the PCC Kitchen.

Members and shoppers at the Central District location can enjoy the following:

  • Full-service meat and seafood, sustainably sourced and cut-to-order.
  • PCC’s large selection of prepackaged bulk items, including everything from flours, rice and nuts to olive oil and new nonfood items like bath salts, body lotion, shampoo and conditioner.
  • An affordable line of certified organic and Non-GMO Project Verified pantry staples from Field Day, including more than 150 items from canned beans and extra virgin olive oil to peanut butter and oatmeal.
  • PCC’s own private-label collection of 12 product lines sourced from local producers, like PCC Organic Grass-fed Yogurt made by Pure Éire Dairy in Othello, Wash., and PCC Organic Pastured Eggs from Wilcox Family Farms in Roy, Wash.
  • Made-from-scratch deli offerings that can be taken to go:
    • PCC Pizzeria showcasing fresh-baked pizza made in-house;
    • Hot and cold prepackaged favorites to go, like PCC Grain Bowls, Macaroni and Cheese, Oven Roasted Chicken and a selection of antipasti;
    • Meals for two that come with a main and a side dish, such as Linguine with Meatballs, Parmesan Chicken Fingers and Turkey Meatloaf;
    • Family-sized salads and ready-to-heat casseroles,including Chicken Enchiladas and Strawberry Spinach Salad.
  • A carefully curated selection of 100% Pacific Northwest-produced spirits to complement the co-op’s collection of exclusive wines and local beers and ciders.

Respected PCC veteran, Tim Tackett, is proud to lead the team as the Central District Store Director. Combining his passions from earlier work in education and restaurant management, Tim joined PCC in 2009 as a Deli Lead at the Fremont store and has since held other roles including Assistant Store Director and Store Director at that location.

The new Central District store will adopt all the health and safety protocols of the other PCC stores in the area. In an ongoing focus to keep staff, members and shoppers safe, the store will have signage encouraging social distancing as well as plexiglass at check stands. All store staff are required to wear masks and it is highly encouraged for shoppers to do the same out of respect for the health and safety of the community. In addition, as with all PCC stores, Central District PCC has upgraded the quality of its air filters. The filters are also changed more frequently and the amount of airflow in-store has been increased to boost circulation.

 

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10 Comments
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PD
PD
3 years ago

It has taken FOREVER for this space to be filled, nice to finally have something there.

I am so happy, as an aside, that the demolition and construction–even though now apparently not underway–of the Midtown block has started.

The ridiculous voices spewing their incoherent arguments against the project would doubtlessly be trying to have it completely abandoned for whatever specious reason they could think of.

So good to see voices like those silenced, their “concerns” fully sidelined, and the project already underway.

I really hope the Madison Valley project slated for City Peoples gets underway as well…but I am not that hopefully.

cd res
cd res
3 years ago
Reply to  PD

Wow, can you say entitled?

ray
ray
3 years ago
Reply to  cd res

@cd res, pd aint entitled, just educated

Theo
Theo
3 years ago
Reply to  cd res

Don’t necessarily agree with the person, but what’s entitled about this?

Also, what does “entitled” even mean? I mean, in anything beyond a namecalling way?

CD Neighbor
CD Neighbor
3 years ago

Yes! Finally something useful!

CD Neighbor
CD Neighbor
3 years ago
Reply to  CD Neighbor

Whilst you may be able to type in anything as your screen name, I’d prefer it if you get your own handle that isn’t already in use….

dave
dave
3 years ago

sweet

John Whittier Treat
John Whittier Treat
3 years ago

I shopped at the PCC on Aurora yesterday, and after that eye-opening experience I can tell you this: If PCC thinks it can charge those prices in the Central District and expect customers, they’re in for a rude awakening.

Guy
Guy
3 years ago

If you are expecting lower prices here, I would not hold your breath. The Columbia City PCC has the same pricing in an area with a lower average household income than the CD.

Jammel
Jammel
3 years ago

Its great to have options. You want cheap groceries? Grocery Outlet is down the street. I’m sure they’d love to have you as a customer. Organic Foods are just more expensive. Sorry. If you are irritated about a company making profit like a lot of people in Seattle are these days (except for themselves), then go to PCC’s website and you’ll see they post their profit and loss statements. You might be surprised to see how little profit there is in groceries. They need to charge more because it costs more to be in business in Seattle.