PCC returning to downtown Seattle after January closure

SEATTLE - PCC Community Markets is returning to downtown Seattle, set to reopen its 4th and Union location with a new small format-style store.

Back in January, PCC closed the co-op grocery store in downtown Seattle due to poor sales and low foot traffic. However, PCC says it is contractually obligated to its long-term lease at the downtown location, despite the previous closure.

PCC's leadership team has spent the past eight months visualizing a new look for the store, ultimately deciding on a small format food market with a limited selection of grocery and pantry items.

The new store will be approximately 6,500 square feet, and looks to share a similar shopping experience to other PCC neighborhood stores.

"We continue to hear – from co-op members, our staff, and downtown residents – about a strong need in the city center for the kind of unique shopping and dining experience that only PCC offers. We are thrilled to be able to meet that need by returning with a new concept that promises significantly better economics than a full-service grocery store," said Krish Srinivasan, PCC’s President & CEO. "We are also deeply grateful for the collaboration and flexibility of our partners at Wright Runstad, and to everyone at City Hall, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Seattle Association who share our commitment to building a vibrant downtown economy and community."

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There was no specified date for when the downtown store would reopen.

Additionally, PCC is moving its office into the space adjacent to the new store, as the cooperative is choosing not to renew the lease of its current office in Belltown.

PCC operates 15 stores in the Puget Sound area, including locations in Bellevue, Bothell, Burien, Edmonds, Issaquah, Kirkland, Redmond and Seattle.

"As a community-owned grocer, our business decisions strive to balance people, planet and profit," said Srinivasan. "We believe that recommitting to good food in Seattle’s city center while also meaningfully reducing the cost of administrative office overhead is a good example of how, at PCC, purpose and profit are two sides of the same coin."