[PHOTOS]: Employees, Friends Bid Petosa's Farewell

Petosa's Family Grocers closed Thursday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m., and members of the Edmonds gathered to express their appreciation for its 27 years of service in the city.

One longtime customer, Sandy Tindall, brought a cake she made during her lunch hour to share with staff and neighbors, while others browsed and bought what little was left on the shelves.

"We've had more people giving us hugs and people giving us their emails--I think that speaks pretty highly of us," said Linda Elliott, who has worked at Petosa's for six years. She said she would miss the people, and their dogs, who would often come in for a treat.

The store had originally planned on closing Saturday, but an employee told Patch Thursday it had run out of stock. The auto licensing office there will remain open.

Several employees told Patch that they don't have new jobs lined up, and hope that they might be able to return to work at a possible new grocery store at the location.

Employee Kevin Lynn said Petosa's was no ordinary grocery store.

"For a lot of these people we were their touchstone. One woman told me, 'You're the only person I talk to all day,'" he said. Another local resident who had worked at the store previously, expressed concern for elderly residents who rely on Petosa's have to run "the gauntlet" to get to other stores.

A new tenant has expressed its intention of opening a new grocery store in the longtime neighborhood grocery, but as of Thursday had not signed a lease for the space. 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 would be from a national grocer store chain, but which one has not been revealed, though sources tell Patch it is not Trader Joe's, as some have previously speculated. It reportedly hopes to open April 1 after a short closure for remodeling.