Federal Way has seen a steady stream of ribbon cuttings celebrating new businesses this year, while also facing the closure of others, with several grocery store closures and the announcement of Wild Waves Theme Park’s impending closure hitting especially hard.

Locally owned businesses new and old contribute directly to the well-being of the community, with Federal Way sales tax funding local infrastructure, resources and events.

This impact is also doubled or even quadrupled when businesses are locally owned rather than corporate chains, according to impact studies by Civic Economics. Their data shows an average of 52.9% of revenue from local independent retailers is recirculated in the local community, while 64.1% of revenue from locally owned restaurants does the same.

Shopping at chain retailers within city limits still generates local sales tax revenue, but only 13.6% of their revenue is recirculated on average, and only 30.4% of the revenue of chain restaurants stays in the community, according to Civic Economics.

There are more than 5,000 active business licenses in Federal Way, according to the Washington State Department of Revenue.

Cutter’s Point Coffee opened a location in Federal Way this year. Here, members of the community celebrate the opening of the cafe with a ribbon cutting. Photo by Bruce Honda

There are several new locally owned restaurants to explore this year, including Jack’s BBQ, Aji Koharu Sushi and Grill, Captain’s Seafood, Szechuan Impression, Bag O’ Crab, and Vecindad Mexican Restaurant and Jet’s Pizza in NE Tacoma.

New cafe Nón Lá features Vietnamese coffee and bánh mì. Make It Healthy offers protein shakes and juices in a vibrant setting. Cafe Spot shares a Einspänner coffee experience along with their signature honey bread, and local chain and roaster Cutter’s Point Coffee offers space to gather along with their small-batch specialty coffee.

A Chicko Chicken location also opened this year, and Jack-in-the-Box also shared on their website that their location at 31130 Pacific Hwy. S. will be repoening in March 2026. There are already two other locations in the city, but this one has been shut down for multiple years after an impaired driver crashed into the building, causing a fire, in 2023.

Recently opened climbing gym Climb NORA is already drawing climbing enthusiasts to Federal Way from around the region and offers an opportunity for locals to try something new and build community. The founder and CEO Seung Park is a graduate of Todd Beamer High School.

There are also two new pilates studios in Federal Way for more options to stay active. Pilates by Siren Curves is a reformer based studio, meaning they use the traditional machines built for the exercises, and Pure Strength Studio, which focuses on strength and mat Pilates.

Federal Way also has some new retail options, including a new location to look for thrifted gems while supporting a good cause. Found It Thrift Shop opened this year, and proceeds go toward All Nations One Voice, a nonprofit founded this year and based in Federal Way that focuses on empowering people through access to education, job training, and support to obtain essential medical equipment. They provide GED and English classes, job training, and assistance for seniors and people with disabilities, thus promoting a more inclusive, dignified, and self-sufficient community, according to their website.

Some new chain retailers have also come to town including Five Below, Sierra and Teso Life.

Some other corporate locations have closed this year in Federal Way, including Office Depot and Walmart. Office Depot closed over 100 locations this year nationwide as part of a shift to more digital and B2B sales and after their parent company, the ODP Corporation, was acquired by an affiliate of Atlas Holdings.

The smaller of two Federal Way Walmart stores was located at 1900 S. 314th St. and closed this year after the company recently remodeled its Supercenter location less than 3 miles away and found the smaller store was no longer needed.

Closures of a Safeway, Amazon Fresh and a Grocery Outlet impacted the community, but Federal Way did gain an Island Pacific Market at 31811 Pacific Hwy. S.

Near the new grocery store is the site of another chain closure, Joann Fabrics, which closed earlier in 2025, one of many companies lost to leveraged buyouts through private equity.

Keith Niven, Federal Way’s community development director, told the Mirror he’s not aware of any ownership changes or plans for the former Amazon Fresh or Grocery Outlet, and no new business licenses or changes in parcel ownership have been recorded in public records.

As previously reported by the Mirror, the Safeway located on 2109 SW 336th St. closed in mid-May due to a sale to New Hampshire-based C&S Wholesale Grocers in 2024, as one of many other locations due to a potential merger between Albertsons and Kroger. The merger ultimately was stopped over concerns about monopolization in the business sector, but the closure of many of these locations moved forward anyway. As of this writing, there is no timeline or update about C&S Wholesale Grocers’ plans for the site.

Niven cleared up some rumors about both the Walmart and the Commons Mall, saying the city has no plans to purchase either property at this time. To his knowledge, he shared that Walmart is in active communication with some potential buyers for the former store location and an unconnected parcel of parking that the corporation also owns, which it contracts with the city to provide as additional parking for the Federal Way Performing Arts and Event Center located nearby.

Any buyer of the main Walmart store property would have to honor that agreement with the city and purchase that smaller parcel of parking, adding an unusual caveat to any deal the corporation makes, Niven said.

The Commons Mall is managed by Merlone Geier and will also see the impending closure of Dick’s Sporting Goods in addition to the closure of Amazon Fresh, but a new location of Dave’s Hot Chicken will be opening in the mall soon.

Another addition to the Commons Mall this year was the new veterinary emergency services location VEG ER.

Looking further into the future, Merlone Geier is in conversation with the Federal Way City Council about a development agreement that would allow redevelopment of the mall property, which could include knocking down sections of the building to add housing and a more mixed-use approach. These conversations have been moving at a slow pace, however, and Niven said there are no specific confirmed plans at this point in time.

Heavy-duty truckers and construction companies now have a local resource to handle repairs and peruse new goods at Pape Kenworth, which opened this year near South 320th Street at I-5. The new facility includes an on-site collision center that is fully dedicated to handle everything from minor repairs to complete rebuilds for all makes and models of heavy-duty trucks. It also features a showroom that sells and leases new and used trucks and other equipment.

This year also saw the opening of new childcare centers, adult family homes, tattoo shops and more.

Know of other new, locally owned businesses in Federal Way? Reach out to keelin.everly-lang@federalwaymirror.com to share more.

The new 12-acre Pape Kenworth facility opened this year, which features a standalone Collision Center with the latest paint booth technology, 23 service bays, over 17,000 square feet of parts and a driver’s lounge with laundry facilities. Photo by Bruce Honda