Does popular Fife market have designs on 2 former Shari’s locations?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Permit filings seek to convert former Tacoma Shari’s site into an Emish Restaurant.
- Federal Way records show three permit applications for 34900 Enchanted Parkway S.
- Projects would be first expansion for Fife-based Ukrainian market that started in 2021.
Two proposed projects would broaden a popular Fife market’s presence in the South Sound with a restaurant concept, according to recent permit filings.
If the plans come to fruition, it would be the first expansion for Emish Market, which opened in 2021 at 2040 70th Ave. E.
On Thursday, initial plans were filed with the City of Tacoma to convert a former Shari’s Cafe and Pies restaurant at 1933 S. 72nd St. to an Emish Restaurant. The location is just east of Interstate 5 near WinCo Foods and LA Fitness at the Tacoma Place shopping center.
The documents describe the project as work with “limited interior modifications, installation of new pizza oven and related permit drawings .... . Existing restaurant use to remain.”
Another potential Emish Restaurant plan appeared in filings to the City of Federal Way earlier this year. Those plans call for converting the former Shari’s at 34900 Enchanted Parkway S., at the corner of 16th Avenue South and South 348th Street near Costco in Federal Way.
Emish Market representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The News Tribune on Thursday.
Keith Niven is community development director for the City of Federal Way. In response to questions, Niven said via email that three permit applications had been filed for the Federal Way site.
Those permit applications include one for interior remodeling work, one for exterior siding and a third for a sign.
“The exterior work permit has been issued, but we do not believe the work has been completed,” he said via email. “The interior permit application was returned last week with a second comment letter from staff reviewers. The sign permit also has not been approved as yet.”
When asked whether the site would be a restaurant or restaurant/market, Niven stated that the interior tenant improvement “wouldn’t suggest a market at the Shari’s, but it wouldn’t be precluded by zoning or by use – it would just be a decision by the owners on how to use the space.”
Initial renderings for the Tacoma site indicate only restaurant usage.
Emish Market is known as much for its specialty baked goods and pastries as much as it is for its grocery side. The bakery program offers homemade loaves, custom cakes and the viral fruit mousse desserts that draw crowds from near and far. The in-house restaurant and deli offers a full menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes, from borscht and pierogi to burgers and omelets.
The market touts its fresh house-made foods, imported European goods, and traditional Ukrainian dishes. That focus and accessibility has made it a gathering place for many immigrant families.
Life after Shari’s
If Emish’s plans come through, it would bring new life to two sites that succumbed to the financial decline of a once-dominant family casual Pacific Northwest restaurant chain.
The Federal Way site closed at the end of 2023; the Tacoma South End site closed the following summer.
It was Tacoma’s last Shari’s to end operations amid legal battles and unpaid rent at numerous locations. In April 2026, The News Tribune reported that the Oregon Lottery and others still sought to collect on debts against entities tied to the chain.
Just a handful of Shari’s sites remain in Washington state along with a few in California and Idaho from a peak of more than 90 locations across multiple states, primarily in the Pacific Northwest.
The News Tribune’s Kristine Sherred contributed to this report.
