I’ve been meaning to visit Tai-Li Market Fiine Ethnic Foods & Deli at 7046 South Park for a while and now I guess its too late because they are closed and the store is mostly empty. The building was constructed in 1927 as the Kubick Grocery and in 1980 it was the Phil-Mars Television & Appliance. We’ll see what it becomes next.
Burdic Feed at 7710 Waller Road has been vacant for as long as I can remember. Though a quick internet search shows that it was Anna’s Party Rental for a time. Public record shows that the store was constructed in 1944.
Movies to Go at 9630 Gravelly Lake Dr SW, Lakewood, WA 98499 is closing as of June 30, 2013. The store opened in 1987. The ultra modern building was constructed in 1955 as a Hogan’s Food King Store.
When I think of grocery stores in Tacoma, sometimes TOP Foods at 3130 South 23rd Street (Tacoma Central Shopping Center) slips my mind because its not on my daily route. TOP Foods is a small chain of 10 supermarkets, all of which are located in Western Washington. The Tacoma location has a Starbucks, pharmacy, US Bank, Chef Express, bakery (including gluten free) and DVD rentals. Haggen operates both TOP Foods and Haggan Food & Pharmacy and including the Haggan stores there are over 30 locations, making it the largest independent grocery chain in the Pacific Northwest. Haggen is based out of Bellingham, WA and began operations in 1933. In 1989, Haggen became the first grocery store chain to have an onsite Starbucks.
I picked up a huge, locally grown tomato plant for less than $3!
Update: 8/8/13 I went past Top Food today and noticed that they were closing 🙁
The castle like commercial building at 2515 South Tacoma Way was built as the Tillicum Toy Company in 1930 and sold Tacoma made toys all over the United States. It the early 1930s it was the largest toy plant on the Pacific Coast. It has also been owned and/or occupied by the Tacoma Milk Shippers Association, a cheese factory, Farm Maid Ice Cream and Darigold Farms. More recently it was MDC Technologies. The building is currently available for sale. While looking for more of the building’s history, I found this website devoted to buildings made to look like castles.
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The industrial property at 3829 South M Street, Tacoma, is available for sale with an asking price of $390,000 (will look at offers). The vacant building has 6,200 square feet and was built in 1948. It was originally owner occupied as Rygg’s Automotive Service and most recently was occupied by Transco Auto Services.
The vacant building at 4638 South Yakima had most recently been Superior TV with a living unit upstairs, but its been vacant for a while. A 1977 photo of the property shows it occupied by Superior TV, so they had a pretty long time in the space, most likely repairing the tube TVs that use to be popular.
The building was originally built as Goodwin Drug Store in 1923 and Wm. Seese was the builder.
I’ve often admired other folks’ photos of the sign for the Chieftain at 3015 South Tacoma Way and today I stopped to snap one of my own in the chilly March air (really snow called for in March?!).
The property was originally Victor Sea Food Products and Victor’s Oyster Bar and George Victor was the builder. It was built in 1946. In 1951 it became Ping’s Garden Chinese Restaurant and in 1953 there was a liquor raid with 41 arrested. In 1954 it became a Larry’s Drive-In Restaurant. In 1971 it became the Chieftain.
The Galaxy Narrows Theater at 2208 Mildred Street West in University Place closed its doors on January 31, 2013, the same day that Meiers House of Clocks closed. This is another place that I just assumed would be there in the future. Over the years we’ve often watched films there and then we’d go to the frozen yogurt place next door (which is also gone). The Keg Restaurant has also recently left the center.
So I went off in search of cupcakes along Pacific Avenue today, but the cupcake place was closed and it was raining and I wanted to go home. So I snapped a quick photo of the vacant building. It was driving me crazy that I couldn’t remember what it use to be, but then it came to me. It was a Sea Galley. I never ate at this one, but I did go to the one in Puyallup once. It was something else for a while and its been vacant for a while. There is still one left open in Union Gap, WA.