Video: Why is PCC closing in downtown Seattle?

PCC Community Markets announced Wednesday that they’re closing down their flagship store in downtown Seattle on Jan. 31. The store, located on the ground floor of Rainier Tower, “remained unprofitable” according to a statement from CEO Krish Srinivasan.

“I want to give credit to PCC for coming out and saying, hey, finances had been a problem,” Gee Scott, co-host of The Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin Show, said on Seattle’s Morning News. “They reported a loss in 2022 of $250,000. It was the first time PCC had a loss since the 90s.”

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PCC owns and operates 16 locations in the Puget Sound region, and with more than 58,000 members, it’s the largest consumer-owned food cooperative in the U.S. Yahoo Finance listed PCC as one of the five most luxurious grocery stores in the country.

“But this is also a beacon of light into what’s going to be happening in the future,” Gee continued. “We’re going to be talking about this more and more and more, a lot of brick and mortars are not being able to make it because of the ways that we shop today. Now if you’re a Dave Ross of the world and you’re still going out there keeping brick and mortars going, shout out to you. Good for you. But I’m just telling you these young whippersnappers from Colleen and myself on down, they different now y’all.”

Listen to Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekdays from 5 a.m. – 9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM or on-demand wherever you listen to podcasts