Uwajimaya, the popular Pacific Northwest Asian grocery store chain, is returning to its hometown of Tacoma with a new store opening in 2027.
The business has signed a lease with the Tacoma Central shopping mall near the intersection of Interstate 5 and Highway 16 where the Hobby Lobby used to be, said Denise Moriguchi, CEO of Uwajimaya Markets. The store will open in the first half of next year.
Puget Sound Business Journal first reported the opening.
Moriguchi’s grandparents founded Uwajimaya in Tacoma’s Japantown at the old Nihonmachi in 1928 and were there until the 1940s, when they were forced into the Tule Lake incarceration camp in California during World War II.
“We will honor their legacy as we reestablish Uwajimaya’s presence in this vibrant community,” Moriguchi said.
A “good deal of planning and construction” will be needed to prepare the 63,000-square foot site in Tacoma, Moriguchi said. Construction will begin this year.
Because it will have a larger footprint, the Tacoma site will allow for a “village concept” similar to the Seattle store, which hosts other retail tenants.
Uwajimaya announced in July it would open another store in Issaquah in 2027. There are already stores in Seattle, Bellevue, Renton, and Beaverton, Oregon.