Tag Archives: grocery

Kingston IGA changes hands, undergoing remodel

Kingston’s downtown grocery store is getting a new name and an overhaul.

The IGA was bought this by Food Market, a small Pierce County grocery chain. The store, at 10978 NE State Highway 104, will soon be rebranded Food Market at Kingston.

Longtime store owner Rick Bjornson reached an agreement earlier this year with Food Market owner Don Stolz, our partners at the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal reported.

“It’s a good location, the locals support it well,” Food Market Operations Manager Kip Bonds said. “It was a good opportunity for us.”

yourFoodMarketLOGOS The new owners are freshening up the store with a remodel set to begin Sunday. Food Market Operations Manager Kip Bonds said the tile floor will be pulled up and the concrete below will be ground and polished. Other changes include all-new lighting, new check stands, a new service center, new and overhauled produce cases, a soup bar and a drip coffee station.

Bonds said there’s no firm timeline for the remodel. A date for a grand opening under the new brand will be announced soon.

Food Market has a different wholesaler than IGA, but Bonds said customers can expect product offerings to be roughly the same. The organics section will be expanded.

Bonds said many staff members stayed on with the new company and some new part-time employees were hired. The store has a new manager. Food Market will offer new sales and incentives for shoppers, including a 1 percent rebate program for nonprofit groups.

Food Market’s other locations are in Lea Hill (Auburn), Key Center and Lake Kathryn (Gig Harbor).

Safeway opening Poulsbo store June 27; hiring 120

Tad Sooter

A grand opening for Poulsbo’s Safeway store and gas station is now set for June 27.

Safeway spokeswoman Sara Osborne said the 59,000-square-foot store at Lincoln Road and 10th Avenue will have about 160 employees. Of those, 120 will be new hires. The company refers job seekers to its website for application information.

Osborne said the store will have all the accustomed Safeway departments, including produce, natural and organic foods, a bakery, floral kiosk, videos, and pharmacy. The deli will feature sushi, sandwiches, a China Express, an olive bar and a soup bar.

Seating for the deli is situated by windows with views to the west and south, alongside an indoor fireplace. Outdoor seating will be available at the front of the store.

A Starbucks coffee shop and US Bank branch are integrated into the building. The gas station has 10 pumps.

Safeway was a featured sponsor of Poulsbo’s Viking Fest last weekend and is sponsoring the Third of July celebration, Osborne said.

Construction began on the store in early 2013 with an opening originally planned for December, and later projected for May.

Bag ban shifted shopper behavior at Bainbridge grocery

Tad Sooter

Bainbridge Island enacted a ban on plastic shopping bags 18 months ago.

The city ordinance eliminated plastic bags and imposed a five cent fee on paper bags (retailers keep the revenue). The hope was shoppers would transition to reusable bags, cutting down on waste. At Winslow’s Town & Country supermarket that appears to have happened.

The store saw a 53 percent increase in reusable bag use after the ban, according to statistics T&C shared with the Kitsap Sun and the city. Here’s a graphical look at the change over the past year:

It should be noted the reusable bag figures represent transactions, not actual bags, since the bags can be used over and over.

T&C gave a nickel discount to shoppers who remembered their reusable bags, creating a 10 cent incentive for shopping with cloth bags. The plastic bag ban and the cash incentive appeared to not only promote reusable bags but also decrease paper bag use.

Tony D’Onofrio, sustainability director for Town & Country Markets, said the ban took some adjustment for customers and staff but was well received.

“Now it’s just business as usual,” he said. “No one seems to really notice. Customers are used to it.”

Other Kitsap cities were in no rush to follow Bainbridge’s lead on banning bags when we checked in with them in 2012. About a dozen Washington cities have adopted bag bans so far.

U.S. Bank will open inside Poulsbo Safeway

Tad Sooter

The new Poulsbo Safeway store will likely include a U.S. Bank branch.

U.S. Bank National Association filed an application with federal controllers Wednesday for an office at the 10th Avenue Store. The Poulsbo Safeway is set to open in May.

Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank has offices in the Silverdale Albertsons and Bremerton Fred Meyer, as well as an ATM in the Poulsbo Albertsons.

Albertsons and Safeway finalized a merger earlier this month. We’ll be taking a closer look at what that might mean for the Poulsbo grocery stores and other Kitsap locations.