Tag Archives: groceries

Cyberattack at massive grocery distributor hitting Capitol Hill-area stores large and small

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(Image: Amazon Fresh)

Shopping in Capitol Hill-area grocery stores has become wacky enough that shoppers may not have noticed that a cyberattack targeting massive distributor United Natural Foods is causing bare spots on shelves and inventory problems at local stores.

The attack targeting UNFI first came to light last week and continues as the natural and organic grocery company says it has made progress but is still not able to fulfill and distribute customer orders.

UNFI is fully intertwined with the modern United States grocery economy including serving as the main provider for Amazon-owned Whole Foods, and also serving the parent companies of Capitol Hill area QFC and Safeway stores.

Smaller entities are also caught up in the mess. Capitol Hill’s Central Co-op says UFNI is “one of our largest suppliers” and is telling customers about possible shortages and “some temporarily sparse shelves.”

Central Co-op says it is trying to fill some of the gaps “by bulking up orders with local vendors and alternate suppliers.”

“Thanks for sticking with us while we sort through this challenge together!,” the Co-op said Wednesday.

 

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Capitol Hill QFC redevelopment plan gets ‘Director’s Decision’ approval

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(Image: Daily Journal of Commerce)

The Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections has issued its Director’s Decision approving the plans for a six-story development to rise on the block currently home to the old 15th Ave E QFC.

Just over a week remains for any possible appeals to be filed against the decision.

The process milestone marks nearly two years of meetings and debate about the development including the East Design Review Board’s approval last fall of a requested zoning departure to allow the building an extra story in exchange for a layout that will preserve a prized European hornbeam tree along E Republican while also transitioning the project to better mesh with the adjacent lower structures to the north.

Any appeals must be filed with the Hearing Examiner by May 29th. Continue reading →

Next for Capitol Hill and Central District grocery shoppers: basket bans and receipt checks

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Thanks to a CHS reader for the picture

The big chain groceries of Capitol Hill and the Central District say they are taking new measures to create a safer environment for shoppers but the latest changes are also making trips to the stores here an even bigger pain in the ass.

Recent new indignities around Central Seattle include attempts to ban backpacks from stores and the elimination at shopping baskets in at least one Safeway.

The carts will stay, for now, an employee said, because of the wheel-locks that prevent shoplifters from taking off with a full load of goods beyond the grocery’s property. Apparently the baskets were too convenient for thieves.

This week, shoppers at Capitol Hill’s two QFC markets will notice new efforts that require customers to show a receipt to security before exiting the stores.

It’s an increasingly common practice for large retail chains but also the latest in an ongoing wave of alienating changes to shopping for groceries around Capitol Hill. Continue reading →

King of the Hill: Back on the job and fully stocked with love for E Olive Way

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(Image: CHS)

 

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(Image: Google)

By Domenic Strazzabosco

A year and a half after undergoing emergency brain surgery, Aklilu “Abe” Abraham — the owner of King of the Hill Market on E Olive Way — is back on the job and endlessly thankful for the neighborhood’s emotional and financial support throughout his surgery and recovery.

In many ways, it feels like he can’t show his appreciation to the people and businesses around him enough.

“I’m really thankful to be around the Hill. And I didn’t know until I was sick,” Abraham, who is often referred to as “The King,” said.

In September 2023, Abraham became ill and was rushed to the hospital, where a CAT scan revealed that he had bleeding in his skull that was putting pressure on his brain. A week after he had surgery, a fundraiser was launched to raise money to help pay for the excessive medical bills he was set to accrue. It was largely supported by repeat customers, neighbors, and former residents of Capitol Hill. Over $30,000 was raised.

Aside from donations, the comments on the fundraiser revealed just how beloved The King was to the neighborhood’s residents. They go something like this: “The neighborhood isn’t the same without you;” “Abe is the true king of the hill. He always makes everyone’s day;” and “Abe is such an important part of our community. Sending our best to him and to his family.”

Looking back, he describes the store, customers and neighborhood like a piece of gold he didn’t realize he had. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill grocery stores have been doing it for years — Now, the city is looking at one Seattle Safeway to see if closing off second entrance is unsafe

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The 15th/John Safeway (Image: Google Maps)

The companies behind Capitol Hill’s grocery stores will be watching as the city considers a complaint against a Seattle Safeway over the practice of closing off second entrances as the big chains try to deter shoplifters and thieves.

A “Notice of Violation” over city code was issued first in January to the 8340 15th Ave NW Safeway over a complaint about the grocery’s shutdown of one of its two entrances. Continue reading →

As $25B Albertsons and Kroger merger fizzles, Capitol Hill still has two QFCs and two Safeways

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Inside the Broadway Market QFC

A day after legal rulings blocked the proposed $25 billion agreement, the planned merger that would combine the Safeway and QFC grocery families is off leaving behind scraps of Capitol Hill paperwork and plenty of uncertainty about the future of the neighborhood’s grocery shopping needs.

Tuesday’s legal decisions included a crippling injunction issued by a federal judge following a three-week hearing in Portland over the proposed merger combining the Albertsons and Kroger companies. Albertsons says it is now backing out of the agreement and suing Kroger over its failure to secure regulatory approval for the massive merger the companies have said was necessary to address spiraling costs and competition from Walmart and Amazon.

On Capitol Hill, the multibillion dollar deal was already in motion with early maneuverings. This summer, CHS reported as a company formed by C&S Wholesale Grocers applied to assume the liquor license for the QFC grocery store in Capitol Hill’s Harvard Market shopping center. Both Capitol Hill QFC grocery stores appeared on the roster of “Planned Divestiture Store, Distribution Center, and Plant Locations” as industry giants Kroger and Albertsons promised to shed hundreds of locations as they worked toward the merger.

A $1.9 billion sale of locations would have included 579 stores across the country including 124 in Washington to be acquired by C&S, owner of the Piggly Wiggly brand that was once a staple on Capitol Hill and across the city. Continue reading →

After five years of paperwork, ‘Master Use Permit’ issued for five-story Capitol Hill Safeway redevelopment

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(Image: Weber Thompson)

The development project to create a new Safeway grocery store and mixed-use apartment complex at the corner of 15th and John has overcome its final regulatory hurdle.

The City of Seattle issued a Master Use Permit for the long-planned project on Halloween day, records show.

The issuance is the final major step in the city’s development process for a project from developer Greystar and the Weber Thompson development team to create two new five-story buildings including a new grocery, around 330 market rate apartment units, some new, smaller retail spaces, and an underground parking lot for more than 300 cars on the Safeway property at 15th and John.

The development has been in the works for years. CHS first broke the news on the plans in 2019. Plans had called for a start of construction in 2024 and a possible 2026 opening of the project. Continue reading →

New Broadway Neighborhood Market joining mix of Capitol Hill convenience shops

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Seattle’s proposed new 20-year zoning plan that would scratch the surface of increasing density on the city’s most residential streets includes a proposal that would make it easier to open corner markets across the city. A new business coming to Capitol Hill’s already densely packed Broadway won’t have to wait for any of that. It won’t even be located on a corner.

Plans are underway for Neighborhood Market to open a new small grocery store on Capitol Hill in the Hollywood Lofts development next to Dick’s Drive-in.

“Neighborhood Market is a community-based convenience store expanding its presence in Seattle, Washington,” one permit filing for the new project reads. “Our original store is in Renton and we are looking to open another one in Seattle.” Continue reading →

A small sign of possible big changes at Broadway’s QFC grocery stores as federal trial to block merger begins in Portland — UPDATE

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Monday, the trial to determine if regulators can stop the merger of the nation’s two largest grocery chains began in a federal court in Portland, Oregon.

On Broadway, the company lined up to take over one of the street’s two QFC supermarkets has filed some of its first paperwork to make the transaction a reality.

The company formed by C&S Wholesale Grocers has applied to assume the liquor license for the QFC grocery store in Capitol Hill’s Harvard Market shopping center, public records show.

The filing is one of a flurry of similar filings by the company in the county and across the state as it begins the process of taking over the stores, according to the state liquor board. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill’s two QFCs on sale list in massive Kroger-Albertsons merger plans — UPDATE

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The Harvard Market QFC at Broadway and Pike

Kroger shut down the 15th Ave store three years ago

As Kroger and Albertsons work toward a $25 billion merger, there might soon be a Capitol Hill without any QFC grocery stores.

Both of the Broadway QFC locations are included on the “Planned Divestiture Store, Distribution Center, and Plant Locations” list (PDF) released Tuesday by the companies as they seek federal approval for the massive deal.

In Tuesday’s announcement, officials at QFC-parent Kroger and Albertsons said the merger will include the $1.9 billion sale of 579 stores across the country including 124 in Washington that would be acquired by C&S Wholesale Grocers, owner of the Piggly Wiggly brand. It is possible the Broadway QFC stores included in that deal could someday become Piggly Wiggly groceries.

It is also possible the Massachusetts-based company might have other plans as the industry continues to adjust to the soaring cost of labor and growing markets for grocery delivery. There were few promises for consumers in Tuesday’s announcements and, in a letter to employees, Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen said Tuesday only that the company is “confident that C&S will provide the transferred associates stability and opportunities to further enrich their careers with a growing company.”

The release of the list including the divestiture plans for the two Broadway QFCs comes amid major uncertainty for big brand grocery chains in the neighborhood. Continue reading →