Will Grocery Outlet revamp two vacant storefronts in Pierce County?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Grocery Outlet conversions could occur at a former Rite Aid and former Big Lots.
- Oregon entity owns multiple retail sites and was behind Belfair conversion.
- Belfair Grocery Outlet hiring event drew about 150 applicants for 30 roles.
Two new Grocery Outlet stores could be in the works in Pierce County. If they come to fruition, both would repurpose former sites of two national retailers that declared bankruptcy.
Plans were filed this summer with Pierce County Planning & Public Works to convert the former Rite Aid at 22201 Meridian E., Graham, into a Grocery Outlet.
Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy in May of this year, bringing not only itself but subsidiary Bartell Drugs to an end. CVS acquired more than 60 of the stores in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, along with the prescription files of 626 locations across 15 states. Retail Dive reported last week that Rite Aid ultimately sold off 1,000 of its nearly 1,300 U.S. locations.
The former Graham Rite Aid site was purchased in May by an LLC affiliated with Dickerhoof Properties of Corvallis, Oregon. Dickerhoof owns/manages more than 3 million square feet of retail property across multiple states.
Plans for the Graham site were submitted near the end of July calling for “Tenant fit out of a new grocery store.”
The job posting site Indeed.com shows a listing for “store owner-operator” in Graham.
A second Pierce County location hasn’t moved from an initial proposal phase with city officials in Lakewood.
That site, if plans moves forward, would go into the former Big Lots at 5401 100th St. SW, Suite 102.
Big Lots closed its Lakewood site last year as part of its nationwide store closures because of bankruptcy. The building is owned by an LLC affiliated with a Pittsburgh-based Kamin Realty, who did not respond to a request for comment.
Multiple representatives for Grocery Outlet did not respond to requests for comment from The News Tribune about the development status of either site.
Coming soon: Grocery Outlet in Belfair
Another former Rite Aid site, this time in Mason County, is further along in its conversion process than the two in Pierce County.
A new Grocery Outlet in Belfair along state Route 3 is planning to open in November. Store staff have been posting regular updates on social media about the renovation process.
That property is also owned by an LLC affiliated with Dickerhoof Properties of Corvallis, who purchased the site in December 2024 and began the permit process for a new Grocery Outlet the next month, according to Mason County records online.
One video noted that a hiring event at the store’s parking lot in September attracted around 150 people for 29-30 available positions.
