UPDATE, Feb. 21, 3:45 p.m.: Petosa's Family Grocers has moved up its closing date to Thursday at 7 p.m., and members of the Edmonds community are planning a gathering at that time in front of the store (550 Fifth Avenue South) to express their appreciation for its 27 years of service in the city. The store had originally planned on closing Saturday, but an employee told Patch Thursday it had run out of stock. In addition, sources tell Patch the new tenant that has expressed interest in opening a new grocery store at the location is not Trader Joe's, as some have speculated.
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Original story:
To the relief of downtown residents and city officials, a new tenant has expressed its intention of opening a new grocery store in the Petosa’s at 550 Fifth Avenue South, which is scheduled to close on Saturday.
Stephan Clifton, Edmonds’ economic development director, said Thursday the city had been told of the development by property manager Bill Wilson of Wilson Investments.
The new tenant will be from a national grocer store chain, but which one has not been revealed. It reportedly hopes to open April 1 after a short closure for remodeling.
Wilson was not available Thursday, but a colleague in the Wilson Investments office said the new tenant has not yet signed anything, just expressed its intent.
Clifton said that if it proves true, it’s great news for Edmonds, since there are no other major grocery stores downtown.
“Grocery stores are often an important anchor of downtown areas and a focal point of everyday life,” he said. “We have a somewhat older demographic downtown. We have a lot of older people located downtown and accessibility is important.”
Petosa’s Family Grocers has been an important part of downtown Edmonds since it was opened by Tom and Betty Jo Petosa in 1986. Its operators announced in late December the supermarket would be closing in two months.
In April 2012, Petosa's suffered extensive damage after a faulty sprinkler flooded the business. The community rallied behind the store with a and the store opened again on April 15.
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