PCC is opening a downtown grocery store

Local grocery chain PCC’s been undergoing a rapid expansion lately, with new stores on the way in Madison Park, Burien, and Ballard. But one new store announcement feels more major than the rest: a downtown location in the new Rainier Square project currently under construction at Fourth Avenue and Union Street.

The tower, when completed, will be the second-tallest skyscraper in the entire city, and consist of 722,000 square feet of office space—all already leased by Amazon—188 luxury apartments, and about 80,000 square feet of retail space. PCC’s store will occupy 20,000 square feet of that, making it even bigger than the last major grocery store opening in the neighborhood, a Kress IGA in 2007.

PCC’s deli section, which has grab-and-go options for a variety of dietary needs, could also make it a popular downtown lunch spot.

Despite more and more residential projects moving into downtown, grocery options have been limited to Pike Place Market—cool, but crowded, and not the best for all everyday shopping—and Kress, but only for the past decade or so. A new grocery store could help address the needs of a growing number of residents living in the downtown core.

Still, with the company’s focus on local and organic goods, we asked PCC if there was any worry about moving in just a few blocks from Pike Place. “Pike Place Market holds a cherished place in our city and the producers and vendors there meet a different need,” said a PCC spokesperson in an emailed statement. “We believe there is room for us both as we provide made from scratch food for the morning and lunch crowds, and a full-service organic grocery for the permanent residents of the neighborhood.”

The tower is scheduled to be completed in 2020.