PCC Corner Market - PCC Downtown
Market · Central Business District ·
Organic produce, prepared foods, beer, wine, and grab-and-go options
Organic produce, prepared foods, beer, wine, and grab-and-go options
"An upscale grocery chain that closed its downtown flagship in early 2024 is returning to the Rainier Tower space on Fourth Avenue and Union Street with a new, smaller concept. The new store will be roughly 6,000 square feet, focus on prepared food that busy office workers can grab on their breaks, and be open only Mondays through Fridays; the statement says the store should open in mid-July. “We are excited about returning to the city center, and to once again be serving the many residents and workers there who were regulars at our previous store,” said PCC president and CEO Krish Srinivasan in a statement; he added that the market “will play an essential role in the continued revitalization of our city’s business district.”" - Harry Cheadle
"I'm bummed for downtown residents who favor the high-quality, high-priced groceries sold by PCC: its downtown store at Fourth Avenue and Union Street inside Rainier Tower — which opened with a big ribbon-cutting in early 2022 — will close on January 31 of next year, the Seattle Times reports. The closure wasn't totally unexpected; PCC reported losing $250,000 in 2023, and about a third of that loss was due to the poor performance of the downtown location. The store had leased the space in 2018 but suffered several setbacks: Amazon changed its plans to occupy Rainier Tower (which would have been a big boost), then the pandemic lockdown effectively emptied the downtown core. Though many workers have returned, downtown is still at around 50 percent of pre-pandemic levels, producing busy lunch hours Tuesday through Thursday and almost nothing on weekends. The opening had been viewed by some as a sign downtown was being revitalized amid struggles with high crime rates and public hard drug use; its closure is now seen by some as a sign things are trending the wrong direction—"This is a sobering reminder that city officials must do everything we can to ensure that conditions within our purview contribute to a thriving business climate, starting with public safety," said City Council member Sara Nelson. Others note signs of life downtown — Pioneer Square has been thriving and the return of cruise lines and stadium events has brought tourists — though apparently few of them shopped at the PCC, and with few other grocery options nearby (other than the H Mart on Second Avenue) more people will presumably be making the trek to the Interbay Whole Foods." - Harry Cheadle
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