Let us now praise the brave owners of the Hillcrest Market, set to reopen sometime soon (perhaps this upcoming month) at Summit Avenue and Denny Way.

When the old Hillcrest burned in July 2004, insurers deemed it too damaged to be repaired. The old building was unceremoniously bulldozed. It had operated under the Hillcrest name since 1959, but had been selling groceries at least since the 1930s (it was originally a pre-supermarket-era Safeway).

That might have been the end of it. The Hillcrest’s owners could have cut their losses, sold out, and perhaps retired on the proceeds of the real estate. The site’s small and awkwardly shaped, but that hasn’t stopped the developers of mid-rise condos and luxury apartments elsewhere on the Hill.

But instead, the Hillcrest’s owners chose to rebuild. It’s taken nearly two years. During this time, the land hasn’t earned a cent of income, other convenience stores have taken bigger shares of the neighborhood’s impulse-shopping business, Fred Meyer and Safeway abandoned their north Broadway locations, and independent food marts in other Seattle neighborhoods such as Fremont and Alki died off. The new Hillcrest will have to prove its worth in a changed retail environment.

I hope it succeeds. And not just because the old Hillcrest had Seattle’s best take-out fried chicken.
The old Hillcrest was, and I presume the new Hillcrest will be, a complete grocery store in a compact size. It wasn’t one of those tiny convenience outlets offering little beyond beer, cigarettes, and Lotto tickets. Nor was it one of those posh gourmet mini-marts offering lots of wine and cheese but little of anything else.

Rather, Hillcrest had a full produce department, an acceptably large fresh-meat selection, and a surprising depth in your other basic grocery product categories. You could handle all your food-buying needs there; though it lacked a supermarket’s higher volume, and hence couldn’t compete with a supermarket’s lower prices.

But as the industry evolves, with ever-larger supermarkets located ever-further apart, there may be a continued (or even enlarged) role for stores that offer what you need, when and where you need it.
Some big names are betting on it.

Tesco (Britain’s behemoth supermarket chain) announced in early February that it’s planning to invade the U.S. as early as next year. Tesco will (1) start its American invasion in the western states, where Wal-Mart (America’s behemoth everything chain) is at its sparsest, and (2) mostly build 5,000-square-foot “express” stores, offering full selections (including fruits and vegetables) in neighborhoods the full-size food marts have abandoned.

This is exactly what many urban storefront districts, and suburban strip-mall districts, have desperately needed for years.

Tesco’s push, if it goes through, would bring new respect and industry attention to the midsize store format. But, like many of you, I’d still prefer to transact my business with a local independent operator—particularly one who, like the Hillcrest’s defiant owners, have proven they care for our neighborhood and deserve our business.