Local chef has big plans for 155-year-old Pierce Co. store. Here’s what we know
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- Chef Danielle Kartes plans to purchase, renovate the 155‑year‑old Alderton General Store.
- County staff completed the Level 3 pre-application report on April 9.
- If she gets the county’s OK, she will purchase for $450,000 and aim to open spring 2027.
Local chef Danielle Kartes was driving along state Route 162 when it caught her eye: the Alderton General Store.
It has seen better days. Graffiti art and spray paint cover parts of the old, white walls. Most of its windows are broken. Glass shards are sprayed across the ground.
“I had just dropped some things at my kids’ school. It was sunny outside, and I was like, ‘I want this little building so bad,’” Kartes told The News Tribune. “I can just imagine it remodeled: stop in, grab a sandwich, get a salad, pick up some olive oil, some beautiful flowers, I can see something in my mind.”
The store sits between Sumner and Orting, and has been closed since July 12, 2018, when a dump truck crashed into it. Two people, including the 60-year-old Graham man driving the car, were injured in the crash.
Kartes said the store is 155 years old, and started as a “Little House on the Prairie” general store, with a post office attached.
“There have been many iterations of it in the 155 years, up until eight years ago,” Kartes said. “Lottery tickets, sandwiches, energy drinks, more of a gas station-type.”
Now, she wants to bring back this piece of East Pierce County history. She said she has not purchased the store yet, and is working with the county to see if her ideas for the renovation comply with codes and regulations. If the county gives her the OK, she plans to purchase it from the local family who has owned the building for decades.
Kartes lives in Puyallup and heads Rustic Joyful Food with her husband Mike. She previously described it to The News Tribune as a “boutique, food photography and lifestyle company.” She has written over a dozen cookbooks and is currently a contestant on Season 5 of the Gordon Ramsay Show, “Next Level Chef.”
“We are hoping to restore it back to its original glory: that community pillar general store/grocery store,” Kartes said. “That little corner is such an eye sore and it looks so bad, and our community deserves better, for future generations. We want a place that supports agro-tourism, local farms, and farmers’ places in the community.”
What does Kartes plan to do with the store?
If you looked inside Kartes’ head, you would see many things in her version of the community fixture: French-style rotisserie chickens, with potatoes to catch the drippings underneath. A sourdough program, with bread made in-house every day. Jam made from fresh-picked berries. Colorful flower bouquets.
The kicker? She wants them all to be locally sourced.
“It won’t be a restaurant, but it will be restaurant-worthy food – it will still be that grocery store where you can buy dry goods,” Kartes said. “We want to be a huge supporter to Sumner and Knutson Farms, we want to make sure we can do something that is a hub, central to our beautiful, growing region.”
She also wants to offer kitchenware and pantry staples, such as honey, olive oil, mixing bowls and ceramics.
Where do things stand?
Kartes told The News Tribune she is waiting for more information from the county about whether her ideas are compliant. If she gets the green light, she said she plans to purchase the store for $450,000.
“[We’re] aiming for an opening of spring 2027,” Kartes said. “Once you get your permits, the building doesn’t take long, the construction doesn’t take forever.”
Christina Rohila, spokesperson for Pierce County Planning & Public Works, told The News Tribune Kartes is using their pre-application services. Rohila said this process allows applicants to have staff review project ideas before submitting an official application for a permit.
“For this project, the applicant chose Level 3, which is our most detailed option. It includes a customized report and a follow-up meeting with staff,” Rohila wrote in an April 10 email. “The report addresses the applicant’s questions and outlines what permits and approvals may be needed if they decide to move forward.”
County staff completed the report on April 9, Rohila wrote, and the next step is to have the follow-up meeting. Rohila told The News Tribune in an April 20 email that the meeting is scheduled for May 6.
Rohila sent Kartes’ application to The News Tribune, which contains questions around the existing/angled parking area around the store. Planning staff said the remodel would require Kartes to get the parking up to current standards, and engineering staff said Kartes would have to have the parking approved by a county engineer.
When Kartes asked what the biggest challenges were to making this project happen, the report said that “meeting or deviating from parking requirements will be challenging,” while engineering staff said a big obstacle is the lack of space for on-site stormwater facilities.
‘It’s going to be done gorgeous, better than anyone can imagine.’
Kartes said she has already hired an architectural firm and collected a group of investors who want to help her buy the store.
“We paid $2,500 to put our [pre-application service] applications in, we hired this firm, we’re in this thing for at least 10 grand,” Kartes said.
If she ends up buying the store, she said the remodel will cost about $2.5 million. She plans to sell tote bags and trucker hats to help with the remodel costs.
“Rustic Joyful Food is just that: it’s beautiful, accessible food and recipes, and hope. We believe we can bring hope to people in this community, and the Alderton General Store will be an extension of that,” Kartes said. “We’ve had thousands of people say it can’t be done, and I say: hide and watch. It’s going to be done, it’s going to be done gorgeous, better than anyone can imagine.”
Kartes said people can stay in the loop on the store’s progress at www.rusticjoyfulfood.com.
