Seattle sandwich chain closes remaining stores, has business license stripped

The Homegrown sandwich shop in downtown Seattle, along with its Mercer Island location, locked its doors on Tuesday with a notice taped to the window indicating the closure.

“It’s temporary as far as we know,” an anonymous customer support representative told The Puget Sound Business Journal.

Homegrown’s Seattle location is situated at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Marion Street, and its Mercer Island shop is at 3016 78th Avenue S.E.

The notice on the front door of Homegrown’s Seattle location was from the Washington Department of Revenue, revoking the shop’s business license. Two instances of unpaid taxes and/or penalties were cited on the notice, totaling more than $472,000.

Notably, Homegrown’s website listed the Mercer Island location as “closed for maintenance,” although no closure information was provided for its Seattle location.

Previous Homegrown closures across King County

In July 2024, the company closed 10 of its sandwich shops across King County, including its Capitol Hill, Kirkland, Queen Anne, Redmond, South Lake Union, Southcenter, and U-Village locations. Ultimately, 158 employees were laid off as a result of the closures.

Homegrown CEO and co-founder Brad Gillis previously stated that economic impacts, rising labor costs, and food prices led to the decision in July 2024.

“This decision was incredibly difficult to make, but one that we feel was absolutely necessary,” Gillis previously stated. “Through our two remaining stores, we will continue our mission of ‘growing with purpose,’ serving our communities with quality, sustainable food, and playing our part in changing the food system so future generations can live in greater harmony with the earth.”

Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest

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