Last Updated on 1 March 2023
This is a list of all known chain grocery addresses in Seattle from 1925 to 1986, compiled from city directories, newspapers, telephone books, and other sources. It is generated through a live Google Spreadsheet so it reflects the latest information I have.
View and download a copy of this location spreadsheet via Google Sheets.
Notes:
- Missing data for Tradewell (1957), A&P (1965)
- Piggly Wiggly Seattle and MacMarr merged in 1929 and then were merged into Safeway/Pay’n Takit in 1933.
- Lucky Stores entered the area with the purchase of Big Bear stores in the late 1950s and then grew with the acquisition of Foodland in 1963. Lucky Stores operated under the Big Bear, Lucky Foodland, and Lucky Stores banners (sometimes simultaneously) and were listed several different ways (e.g. Lucky Markets, Lucky Food Market). Lucky left the Seattle area in approximately 1984.
- See offiste links below for more.
Offsite Links:
- It doesn’t really get much better than Rob Ketcherside’s writings about Seattle history in general and Seattle grocery history in particular:
- Ba-kground: Grocery Archives
- The grocery revolution reaches Broadway
- Ice cream, beer, and the Montlake Drive-In Public Market
- Piggly Wiggly on Broadway
- Broadway Market v1.0, created by a developer, a lawyer, and a saloon owner
- Capitol Hill — Fancy groceries since 1912
- There’s really too much. Just Google “Rob Ketcherside grocery Seattle” and go from there
- Retailing in Washington
- Unreliable Safeway and Thriftway memories prove you don’t always get what you wish for!
- Seattle history: Looking back at Northgate Mall, the nation’s first shopping mall, mostly
- Seattle Municipal Archives: Street Directional Designations
Store tags:
- A&P
- Albertsons
- Big Bear
- Food Giant
- Foodland
- IGA
- Lucky Stores
- MacMarr
- Mayfair Markets
- Piggly Wiggly
- QFC
- Safeway/Pay’n Takit
- Thriftway
- Tradewell
Paul Ivester
September 11, 2023 at 11:28pmHi David,
Thank you for the extensive update of the Seattle Chain Grocery / Supermarket Locations. I have a bit of additional information about some of the stores based on my observations growing up in North Seattle (confirmed by old telephone directories and web searches). Some of this might be of interest, some might even be useful next time you update the page.
Paul
——————
534 Northgate Mall: (Tradewell) should be in the Northeast section with the A&P at the other end of the mall.
506 1st Ave N: (A&P) is the same location as 100 Republican St. (QFC). QFC took over the store when A&P pulled out of the Northwest. Eventually, they built a new store in the parking lot East of the old A&P, and then tore down the A&P to be the parking lot for the new QFC. Closed about 2005, demolished 2010, apartments and restaurants now on the site. BTW, my father worked at this A&P in the 1950s.
462 N 36th St: Safeway. Building still there. Currently Roxy’s Diner.
1802 N 45th St: Food Giant was bought by QFC in 1996.
1106 N 80th St: Safeway. Building still there. Currently Benjamin Moore Paint
8704 Greenwood Ave. N. Safeway. Original store replaced with a Marina-style in the early 1960s. Replaced again with a new style store around 2000. Closed in 2018, Demolished in 2020. Replaced with apartmemts.
10342 Aurora Ave. N. The Safeway at 105th and Aurora moved in 1942 from the northeast corner to the southeast corner (10342 Aurora Ave. N.). Now a Sherwin-Williams paint store.
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-43KRq-TeU54/ViVGyhod0VI/AAAAAAAIY_M/r0brsfqTEHg/s1600/1942-safeway-ad-620.jpg
It was still open in 1966, even though other older stores had been replaced by Marina-style stores. The Safeway ads listed it as 105th and Aurora.
1531 NE 145th St: (Originally Mayfair) This became a QFC in the 1980s when Lucky pulled out of the Northwest.
6502 10th Av NE and 6502 Roosevelt Wy NE (Piggly Wiggly) are the same store (10th NE was renamed Roosevelt Way NE). Google Maps goes to the wrong place with this address, as it no longer exists.
6512 10th Av NE and 6512 Roosevelt Wy NE (EBA’s) are also the same store. Google Maps goes to the wrong place, as with the other 10th Ave NE addresses.
6600 Roosevelt Way NE, was the first QFC store (opened in 1955). It was closed in 2012 and demolished in 2013 for redevelopment.
1400 NW 56th St.: The Lucky in Ballard became the “Ballard Market”, part of the local Town and Country Markets chain in 1986. The signage has recently been changed to “Town & Country”
6400 8th Av NW This Marina Safeway closed in the 1990s, and is now a Goodwill.
8500 15th Av NW, 8352 15th Av NW, 8340 15th Av NW: There have been 4 Safeway stores at this intersection. The oldest on the Northeast corner was replaced by a 1940s style store south of 85th, replaced again by a Marina-style in the early 1960s (I shopped there many times), and replaced again by new style store around 2000.
2363 NW 80th St (Safeway) Building is still standing, but has been changed extensively and converted into an office building.
1423 NW Market St Tradewell was demolished in the 1990s and replaced with a Safeway.
A missing store is the fondly remembered Art’s Food Center at 9999 Holman Road NW. It opened in 1956 as the flagship store for the local Art’s chain, which never had more than about 4 stores, mostly in suburbs of Seattle. It was sold to QFC in 1998. Perhaps it doesn’t qualify because the chain was too small. (Other locations circa
+ 1966: Mercer Island, 7811 SE 27th (now apartments); Lake City (Seattle) 13002 Bothell Way NE (now Lake City Way NE) (now Fred Meyer parking lot); Juanita, 9755 NE Juanita Dr, Kirkland, WA 98034 (now a Michaels craft store)
Groceteria
September 13, 2023 at 8:24amThanks so much for all this detailed information! I will work on getting it integrated into the listings as soon as I can. This is great!