Specialty grocers thrive as large grocery stores close in Federal Way

Three chain grocery stores have closed in Federal Way in the last six months, including a Grocery Outlet, Safeway and Amazon Fresh.

Despite the impact of these closures on the community, Federal Way is not without its food sources. In addition to Fred Meyer, Walmart, Target, Trader Joe’s, another Safeway and even another Grocery Outlet, the city also has an increasing number of small and specialty grocers featuring foods that meet the needs of the diverse community.

Not far from the former Grocery Outlet on Pacific Highway, a Filipino grocery store called Island Pacific Seafood Market will open its first Washington location soon. The large grocery store will focus on seafood and South Asian foods.

Kandahar International Market and Tiendita Las Canicas opened in 2023, and 2022 saw the opening of Lucky African Mediterranean Market and Cafe, Pacific Halal Market featuring a butcher shop and a variety of East African products, Salam Deli Mart with Afghani items, and Korean specialty store Wooltari.

Wooltari specialty Korean grocery in Federal Way is the only location of the company in Washington state. Photos by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror

The Federal Way Wooltari, 2116 S. 314th St., is the only one in Washington state and focuses on contracts with small businesses and high quality specialty items, according to store manager Jong Min Park.

He told the Mirror that when they first opened, they would get customers from all over the region including as far away as Bellevue and other Eastside cities. Increasingly heavy traffic on I-405 has put a damper on the willingness of those customers to travel, he said, but he hopes business will pick up more from the more local Korean community.

These newer additions are a continuation of a successful tradition of international and specialty grocers in the city.

Natural foods specialty grocery store Marlene’s had its first location in Federal Way, opening with the name Federal Way Health Foods in 1976, and continues today at 2565 S. Gateway Center Pl.

Valley Harvest International Market, 28855 Military Road S., opened 23 years ago in 2002, and features foods from Eastern Europe as well as Mexican, Asian and African foods, according to their website.

The Federal Way H Mart was the first location of the store on the West Coast and is still going almost two decades later. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror

Federal Way’s H Mart came next in 2006, the first location of the popular Korean grocer not only in Washington state, but in all of the West Coast in 2006.

Euro Food and Deli’s first location opened at 1505 S. 344th St. in Federal Way in 2010, then expanded to Auburn in 2023, and is looking to open a third location soon.

Campeon Market, 31009 Pacific Hwy. S., focuses on Mexican foods and has been in operation since 2017.

Just as Safeway stores feature a deli, many of these locations also feature freshly prepared hot and cold foods, locally made baked goods and more.

Euro Food and Deli in Federal Way features European products with a focus on Ukrainian items and an extensive deli with a variety of meats and dried fish as well as fresh hot and cold foods. Photos by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror

Store closures

The first in this series of local store closures was the Grocery Outlet location at 32945 Pacific Highway S. in Federal Way, which closed in early May due to restructuring in the company.

The Safeway location at 2109 SW 336th St. in Federal Way was next to close in mid-May. This location closed 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 due to concerns about monopolization in the business sector, but the closure of many of these locations moved forward anyway.

The Amazon Fresh location at 1701 S. Commons in Federal Way closed this past June.

Each of these closures meant that many people lost their jobs. The closure of Amazon Fresh alone caused layoffs of 125 people.

Island Pacific Seafood Market is opening any day now in Federal Way and will become the first location of the Filipino grocery store in Washington state. Photos by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror

Closures of grocery stores can also impact food access, making food harder to acquire for those who depended on those locations as accessible options.

All of this comes as food prices and food insecurity are high, and tariffs put pressures on grocers who import international products.

Amid all of these challenges, international grocery stores can act as a community hub and connection point.

At Salam Deli Mart (1620 S. 312th St.), Walimarjan Aryoubi told the Mirror that when he first moved to Federal Way from Afghanistan 18 months ago, he and the manager Esmatullah Amini became friends.

In addition to being a place to find familiar foods, it has become a place to find community, and for his children to look forward to getting treats each Sunday, Aryoubi said.

While many international stores feature items specifically from that country, the cultural cross-pollination is also evident. At Euro Food and Deli, a container of fresh Korean pickled carrot is in the same case as the more traditional Ukrainian delicacies.

Wooltari features products by small businesses and specialty products by brands that are hard to find, even at other local Korean grocers. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror

El Campeon Market features groceries as well as baked goods and freshly made food. Photos by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror

The produce section at Euro Food and Deli highlights the way each grocer features both local and specialty products. Photos by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror