PCC Community Markets Goes Hook, Line and Sinker for Northwest Seattle: Announces New Ballard Store and Fremont Store Refresh

The nation’s largest community-owned food market expands reach with 14th store

(SEATTLE, Jan. 4, 2018) – PCC Community Markets (PCC), the largest community-owned food market in the U.S., today announced plans for a new location in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. Located at 1451 N.W. 46th St., the 25,000 square-foot store is planned to open in spring 2019 and bring approximately 100 new union jobs to the surrounding community. The co-op also plans to refresh its Fremont store at 600 N. 34th St. beginning fall 2018, deepening its commitment to a community that PCC has served since 1994.

“There is an independent spirit and love of food that is deeply rooted in Ballard,” said Cate Hardy, PCC Community Markets CEO. “You can see it firsthand in the bustling Sunday farmers market, flourishing locally owned restaurants and, of course, Seafood Fest. When the opportunity to join this community came to us, we didn’t hesitate. PCC and Ballard share many of the same values, and we can’t wait to further support local, independent producers while contributing to the thriving Ballard food culture.”

The new Ballard PCC will be located adjacent to the “missing link” of the Burke-Gilman Trail, the city’s largest commuter trail. It will feature a produce Chop Shop with cut-to-order fruits and vegetables; the PCC Taqueria; made-from-scratch pizza; daily-made grab-and-go sandwiches; freshly baked scones, biscuits and other pastries; full-service meat and seafood; and a charcuterie counter. In addition to beer, wine and ciders, Ballard PCC also will carry a carefully curated selection of local craft spirits, hand-selected by Seattle Magazine’s 2017 Wine Steward of the Year. The store also will be the first PCC location to boast a rooftop deck with views of the surrounding area.

With the opening of the Ballard store, PCC will be one of two independently owned grocers in the neighborhood. As with PCC’s other locations, the Ballard store will celebrate products that are fresh, local, organic, sustainably sourced and seasonal. More than 95 percent of PCC’s produce selection is organic; its meats are 100 percent organic, non-GMO or grass fed; its seafood is sustainably sourced adhering to Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch standards; 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.

In addition to attentive and knowledgeable staff, PCC has among the highest product standards in the country. The co-op stocks its shelves with products made without harmful artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners, nanotechnology or synthetic biology. It also has one of the cleanest selections of health and body care products, turning away more than 500 ingredients allowed at other retailers.

As a fully community-owned organization, PCC is dedicated to returning a healthy share of its profits back to the neighborhoods in which it operates. In 2016, the co-op gave back 38 percent of its after-tax net earnings to its 58,000 Seattle-area members, and an additional 15 percent of its after-tax net earnings to schools and nonprofits around the Puget Sound. With the opening of the Ballard store, PCC also will expand its food bank initiative, grocery rescue programs, local donations and school fundraising to the Ballard area.

Through its Fremont and two Greenlake stores, PCC already actively supports the BF Day Elementary, Green Lake Elementary, Daniel Bagley Elementary and Hazel Wolf K-8 as well as University District Food Bank, North Helpline and FamilyWorks Food Bank, serving the Greenwood and Wallingford areas. Most recently, the co-op forged a unique relationship with Aurora Commons donating fresh eggs each week to the group’s People’s Kitchen, a public space for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness to come together and cook meals themselves.

PCC also will refresh its Fremont store this year. A staple of the Center of the Universe since 1994, PCC moved into its current Fremont location in 2003 when it outgrew its original space. New features for the fall 2018 refresh are still under development. Among consideration are some of the offerings most popular among PCC members and shoppers like the PCC Taqueria, the recently launched Chop Shop and its new, locally sourced spirits department as well as several yet-to-be revealed test concepts.

Seattle-based architects Graham Baba and MG2 will design the new Ballard store, and Regency centers is the developer. Graham Baba also is the lead architect on PCC’s West Seattle redevelopment and Burien store. MG2 is the lead architect on Madison Valley store.

About PCC Community Markets

Founded in Seattle in 1953, PCC Community Markets (PCC) is the nation’s largest community-owned food market and WholeFoods Magazine’s 2016 Retailer of the Year. PCC has an active membership spanning more than 58,000 households and gives back 15 percent of its after-tax net earnings to schools and nonprofits around the Puget Sound, including PCC Farmland Trust, Washington Tilth Association and FareStart.

PCC operates 10 stores in the Puget Sound area, including the cities of Bothell, Edmonds, Issaquah, Kirkland, Redmond and Seattle. Its Seattle stores are in the neighborhoods of Columbia City, Fremont, Green Lake, View Ridge and West Seattle, which will reopen in 2019. The co-op will open its Burien store in spring 2018. It also has plans to open a new store in Seattle’s Madison Valley neighborhood in 2020.

For more information, including how to have PCC delivered via Instacart or Amazon Prime Now, visit: Website, Facebook and Instagram.

Media contact

Laura Ray
On Behalf of PCC Community Markets
Email
206-715-4888