Hungry on way to Mount Rainier? Local market opens for first summer in 10 years
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Alder Lake Market reopened this year for the first summer in a decade.
- The market sells firewood, coffee ice, snacks, drinks, fishing and camping gear.
- Hikers and tourists now have additional place to stop for goods on way to Mount Rainier.
For the first summer in a decade, the Alder Lake Market will be open, The News Tribune confirmed with a visit Thursday.
A popular stop on the way to Alder Lake and the Paradise entrance of Mount Rainier, the shop at 50110 Mountain Highway E. had opened and closed many times over the decades, said owner Frank Razo, who also owns the 120-year-old Elbe Market Country Store six miles down the road (which is flanked by massive Bigfoot sculptures).
The Alder Lake Market has been around since the 1900s when the small town of Alder once stood in the middle of what is now a seven-mile-long lake. A year after Tacoma Power built the Alder Dam in 1944, the town was flooded, and the market was physically moved north of the lake, the story goes, Razo said. A black-and-white photo he shared with The News Tribune shows a storefront smaller than the one that stands today, with two gas pumps.
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Tourists, hikers and passersby can now grab firewood, ice, snacks, drinks, fishing equipment, camping gear, candy and coffee at Alder Lake Market, on State Route 7 on the way to Elbe and Ashford. A cherry stand sits in the parking lot seven days a week, advertising Black Coral and Rainier cherries picked in Zillah, Washington (cash and card accepted). People can rent kayaks at the market, and local food trucks often park there, too.
Razo said he lives in the area and passed the defunct Alder Lake Market every day for nearly three years until he decided to buy it and bring it back to its former glory. It officially opened last fall, but this will be its first summer open in a decade.
In the future Razo wants to add hot food for sale, in addition to a game room for kids. He’s embraced the “modern but retro vibes” of “a cool old-school lake store” with colorful beer-bottle cap decor and old replica gasoline stations turned into gumball machines.
“Just a side quest that ended up being a good thing, you know?” Razo said. “[We’re] just trying to build up the essentials, and then go from there.”
The store is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays although Razo wants to expand hours as they grow and hire more staff. Follow the store on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
“Tons of people wanted this store back,” Razo said. “That’s what we’ve heard the most, is everybody going, ‘I used to come here as a kid, it’s been closed for so long.’”
