Hear from Krish on our plans to open a smaller format store in Downtown Seattle

Dear Co-op Member-Owners,

I am writing today to share an exciting announcement related to the use of PCC’s space in Downtown Seattle (located at 4th & Union). This location was the site of a store that we closed in January 2024 because we could not see a way to profitably operate a full-service grocery store there.

After several months of hard work and collaboration with our landlord Wright Runstad, I am happy to share that we have found an innovative solution to reactivate the space in a way that furthers our purpose as a food co-op.

Informed by everything we learned from the previous store’s two-year operating tenure, and particularly the performance of its highly successful prepared foods and deli department, we have decided to open a small format store in a portion of the former Downtown PCC location.

This new store (with no formal name yet) will cater to office workers and Downtown residents seeking freshly prepared foods during their workday — hot and cold bars, deli grab-and-go, drinks and snacks. It will also carry a limited selection of produce, grocery and pantry items, and goodies like ice cream, beer and wine. Like any PCC store, all products will meet our rigorous quality and sourcing standards, and the shopping experience will be similar to our other co-op locations.

We have often heard from many of you, as well as our staff, 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 with this new concept that promises significantly better economics than a full-service grocery store.

This decision has an additional happy outcome. After accommodating the new store, there is sufficient space left over that is well-suited to the needs of our centralized store support functions (the co-op’s office). We will therefore relocate these teams there once the lease on our current office space expires (also next year), saving PCC unnecessary rent expense and placing our office in a space that more closely aligns with our values as a co-op.

As a community-owned grocer, our business decisions strive to balance people, planet, and profit. 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.

Thank you!

Krish Srinivasan
CEO, PCC Community Markets