QFC Opens Location in Kirkland Urban, Focuses on Organic Foods

Everything was on deck on the morning of July 29, as workers pressed for the new QFC Kirkland flagship store – the only grocery tenant in Kirkland’s sprawling urban development – to be ready for opening on July 31.

The approximately 50,000 square foot space employs 170 people and represented a $ 23 million investment for the company. While not the brand’s largest store in the Seattle area, it will be one of its leaders in organic food options, raising QFC’s Simple Truth label more than ever. while continuing to offer conventional national brands.

The store opening is part of the first phase of a multi-phase construction plan at 425 Urban Plaza; the next step will include the demolition of the former nearby QFC store at 211 Parkplace Center.

Zach Stratton, director of corporate affairs for QFC, said the new store offers a variety of unique products that cannot be found in other locations.

“Everything was organized with this demographic group in mind… We have years of data from [the Park Place] store, so now it’s about “What does downtown Kirkland want?” What are they buying ?’ And start from scratch, ”Stratton said.

He added, “It’s not an extremely large grocery section, it’s just a lot more local, natural and organic sections. You can see your national brands, you can still find your Cheetos, you just aren’t going to have five Cheetos feet.

The butcher will offer grass-fed Angus beef, and in seafood, shoppers can try protein noodles made with fish to avoid the carbs. Yummi Sushi, which won one bid among eight other sushi brands, will make fresh sushi daily and offer a special “Kirkland Roll”.

Unique to the Kirkland location is the Q20 pub, stocked with five HDTVs, eight rotary taps and a Frosé machine.

At the bar, customers can use iPads to order from the in-store Tutta Bella pizzeria, another new addition to QFC. The restaurant chain, founded in 2004 in Columbia City, is owned by a large Catholic family, and in keeping with Tutta Bella tradition, a priest blessed the wood-burning oven in a family ceremony before the official opening.

Kirkland Urban will join other pedestrian communities like Ballard and Capitol Hill in having a DogSpot – a temperature-controlled, pay-per-hour dog kennel monitored via an app – so shoppers don’t have to bring their dogs to the house. inside.

Above the escalators leading to the store from the parking lot is a specially commissioned mural by local artist Eleanor Doughty; Wednesday morning, the first 100 customers received a bag of groceries with the Lake Washington-themed wall design.

The Kirkland Urban location will also be the second store to have a Fit Market section, stocked with a variety of whey protein, vitamins and other supplements, as well as wellness items like bath bombs. .