Fife finally gets full-sized grocery, also worth a trip for specialty goods

Fife officially has a full-sized, locally owned and operated grocery store, four years after the project was announced.

Emish Market is open at 2040 70th Ave. E, one mile east of the Interstate 5 interchange near the Wapato Way bridge. Mayor Kim Roscoe will join other city officials at a grand opening celebration Friday, July 9, starting at 3 p.m. with live music, kids activities, food samples and a lottery to win a $500 gift card.

The 14,000-square-foot store features an in-house bakery with breads and pastries, specializing in Eastern European style, a cafe serving coffee and sandwiches, a meat and seafood department as well as fresh produce, dairy and frozen foods.

Given its proximity to office buildings and manufacturing hubs, the layout caters to the grab-and-go crowd, with an impressive display of cold beverages.

Davis Property & Investment LLC, working with the City of Fife, first shared news of the store development in 2017, with a target opening of Spring 2020. The pandemic halted construction, said spokesperson Marshall Kalerak, but owners Anatoliy Zaika and Vladimir Gapon — who committed to the project in 2019 — were undeterred.

With his wife Maria, Zaika emigrated to Tacoma from Ukraine more than 15 years ago, launching Kusher Bakery in Federal Way, later moving the business to Fife. Emish Market combines their bakery concept with a full-service grocery, which they describe as family-oriented with “fresh, wholesome and affordable” goods. The name references having an inquisitive nature, one that compels a pursuit to accomplish the extraordinary, “something very worthwhile for humanity,” the owners said.

“It is an experience that needs to be seen to get the full grasp,” said Kalerak. “Fife has been a grocery desert for over 20 years. Residents have had to travel to other cities just to get the basics. Now they can just go down the street to their own store.”

Outside of the Costco Business Center, which requires a membership to enter, the nearest major supermarkets were a Fred Meyer in Puyallup or Safeway in Milton — both about five miles away.

“When you talk about what we want for our residents,” said Roscoe, “we want them to be able to shop within their community and not travel long distances just to get the basics.”

Major retailers skipped over the city for more densely populated neighbors. That a family owned business ended up in the space is a “happy coincidence,” she said. Beyond the essentials, she added, it also gives residents an opportunity to support a local business in their own backyard.

EXPERIENCE THE NEW EMISH MARKET

Upon entering Emish Market, customers are greeted by the cafe, with seating to the right and outside on a patio elevated from street level, where tables are equipped with umbrellas for shade. The pastry case during opening week showed off specialties such as honey cake, lacomka and shishka cookies, and fruit-studded cheesecakes. Savory housemade items include morkovka (carrot salad), beet salad and pickles, available by the pound.

The produce section is modest but filled with greens, essential cooking ingredients — garlic, onions, potatoes — and fruits including avocados, pineapples and local cherries. Along the far wall, a refrigerated section of bottled beverages runs from water to imported juice and sodas, including several brands of the fermented grain drink kvass.

The packaged goods aisles offer all the basics of pastas, rice, cereal and canned goods alongside mostly Eastern European imports: halva, Turkish coffee, tinned fish, tubs of sour cherries in syrup. Here you can also take home a giant bag of flour and frozen pelmeni — the bite-sized Russian dumpling — by the pound.

In addition to an entire row of encased meats, Emish also has a fish and meat counter, where chicken wings are $3.49 a pound and ground chuck $1.99.

Stocked with everyday essentials, the store will have regular sales on select items as any grocery does. Its focus on imported goods also makes it a destination for home cooks seeking ingredients missing from American supermarkets, such as high-fat European butter and fresh farmers cheese.

EMISH MARKET — FIFE

▪ 2040 70th Ave. E, Fife, 253-262-6070, facebook.com/EmishMarket

▪ Daily 6 a.m.-11 p.m.

▪ Details: grand opening June 9 starting at 3 p.m., featuring food, kids activities and prizes awarded 4-6 p.m.

*Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article misstated the owners’ names. They are Anatoliy Zaika and Vladimir Gapon.

This story was originally published July 8, 2021 at 5:00 AM.