It’s hard not to be a little concerned when a COVID-19 testing center that opened on the street can’t even stay open during a pandemic, but, believe it or not, 15th Ave E won’t live or die by the exit of QFC from the top of Capitol Hill — even if massive parent grocery company Kroger makes things difficult.

An empty 17,000-square-foot grocery store might add to the pandemic’s plywood, recent closures, and a few businesses in a kind of limbo making it feel like 15th Ave E’s commercial core has met its match but those doing business in the neighborhood are not giving up.

Tuesday, CHS reported that the 15th Ave E grocery store will shutter in April as the company says Seattle’s $4 an hour COVID-19 hazard pay has forced it to cut two underperforming stores in the city. The company says it will meet with the store’s workers to “help them with this transition and will comply with any contractual commitments” and “consider any transfer requests.”

CHS has learned the grocer has two years remaining on its lease and developer and property owner Hunters Capital says it is talking with the company about keeping the store and its 10,000-square-foot surface parking lot a useful, active part of the neighborhood.

“The activation of storefronts is critical – especially at this time when we see many of them darkened,” Hunters representative Jill Cronauer tells CHS.

“QFC holds a lease for another two years and we will be working with them on how we can activate the area until there is a long-term plan in place,” Cronauer said.

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That could mean new business. It could also mean other creative efforts like this temporary art installation in the space of a former high-end fashion boutique in Pike/Pine. Of, if you really want to dream big, something on the scale of V2, the temporary arts space used to keep the former Capitol Hill Value Village building active as it awaited redevelopment.

QFC’s surprise announcement caught employees and Hunters Capital off guard. It was also an unwelcome surprise for the neighborhood which, like most areas of Capitol Hill and the city, is dealing with pandemic-related closures — both temporary and permanent.

Recent shutdowns include a dry cleaners and a COVID-19 testing clinic business that popped-up briefly where the Take 2 consignment shop called home for 36 years before closing due to economic fallout from the pandemic.

Other shutterings appear to be temporary. Coastal Kitchen remains closed and has not joined other area restaurants in scrambling to get by on a mix of takeout business and limited in-restaurant dining. But its shutdown is likely temporary. The owners that bought the longtime restaurant business in 2016 also purchased the building.

There are other 15th Ave E businesses hovering and waiting to spring back to life.

“We are opening again,” Christopher Forczyk tells CHS. “We have the funding to be able to open.”

Forczyk purchased Smith in 2019 as Linda Derschang downsized her Seattle food and drink holdings.

The pub has remained close despite loosened COVID-19 restrictions but Forczyk says he is hopeful that will change by mid-March or early April as the situation around the pandemic becomes more clear. Opening and closing as restrictions were lifted and reimposed was hugely expensive, Forczyk says, with $15,000 to $20,000 of food and drink at risk of going bad.

“If we close again, this yo yo effect is enough to drive you crazy,” Forczyk said.

But the relatively new restaurant owner is hopeful for 15th Ave E and he sees optimism even when he looks across the street where the pandemic claimed one of the most popular cafes in the city. The Wandering Goose’s story might work out OK on 15th Ave E. Forczyk says word in the neighborhood is that Ethan Stowell Restaurants, which operates Rione XIII next door, is readying a new project for the former Goose space.

That hope is based in sound reason, Jeff Pelletier​, principal at neighborhood design firm Board & Vellum, says.

“While there are some closed storefronts, and certainly a large one soon with the closure of QFC, the heart of our neighborhood is the wonderful collection of local businesses which remain open up and down the street,” Pelletier and the 15th Avenue Merchants Association write in a statement on the QFC closure. “We have faith that as the pandemic ends, the vacant storefronts will fill, and creative business owners will find opportunity in this wonderful neighborhood, just as they have for decades.”

The merchants group also expressed its faith in Hunters Capital. That is also a reasonable bet. The small developer has made a big investment in 15th Ave E’s success — it also purchased the Hilltop Service Station property and is planning this five-story, nearly 70-unit apartment building for the corner.

For now, the wait is for April 24th and the 15th Ave E QFC’s planned final day of business — and for a plan for what to do with the building when the grocery is gone.

The full statement from the merchants group is below.

15th Ave East, like other several neighborhoods on Capitol Hill, continue to grow and change. The pandemic has certainly supercharged the speed of this change, of course, and our thoughts go out to all of the workers losing their jobs as part of Kroger’s decision to close this QFC.

Change is the nature of cities, and while many of us still miss businesses like Red and Black Books, City Peoples Hardware, and Rainbow Grocery, new members of our neighborhood are just now forming their connections to all of the wonderful businesses here. 15th Avenue East has one of the most dynamic retail and dining environments in the city, and this past year the streetscape was revamped with enlarged sidewalks to create more space for pedestrians, bicyclists, and outdoor dining. Throughout this pandemic, the Merchants Association has been focused on the years ahead and our members have been working to create a Community Improvement District to ensure the long-term health of our beloved street.

While there are some closed storefronts, and certainly a large one soon with the closure of QFC, the heart of our neighborhood is the wonderful collection of local businesses which remain open up and down the street. We have faith that as the pandemic ends, the vacant storefronts will fill, and creative business owners will find opportunity in this wonderful neighborhood, just as they have for decades. We encourage our neighbors and visitors to come and support the fabulous local businesses up on 15th Avenue East. As we look forward, we have faith in Hunters Capital, a local developer with deep roots in Capitol Hill, to shepherd the QFC site, and make it a space that will form fond memories for all of us in the years ahead.

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Subscribe to CHS to help us pay writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.