ISSAQUAH, Wash. — This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
Asian grocery store Uwajimaya is expanding into Issaquah after announcing it will take over the lease of a former Rite Aid.
The newest store will be located within the 16-acre Town and Country Square shopping center at 1065 N.W. Gilman Boulevard, according to The Puget Sound Business Journal.
It will be the fourth Uwajimaya within the Puget Sound region, alongside locations in Seattle, Bellevue, and Renton. There’s an additional store in Beaverton, Oregon as well.
Uwajimaya initially started in Tacoma all the way back in 1928. Its Seattle location, located in the Chinatown International District, opened in 1945 after the owners returned from an internment camp in California, according to the company’s website.
All Rite Aid stores to close or be sold as company files for bankruptcy
In May, Rite Aid CEO Matthew Schroeder briefed employees that all stores would either close or be sold as the company filed for bankruptcy, Bloomberg reported.
The media outlet stated funding from investors fell short, and the company faced a series of economic issues, including tariffs, more expensive supply costs, pricier landlords, and what Schroeder called a “dramatic downturn in the economy.”
Rite Aid, which has filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than two years, agreed to sell more than 1,000 of its stores to a group of competitors. That group includes Walgreens, Albertsons, Kroger, Giant Eagle, and, for the Pacific Northwest — CVS Pharmacy. The Pennsylvania-based pharmacy chain entered bankruptcy with more than $2 billion in debt.
Eight Rite Aid stores are closing in Washington across eight different cities.
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