Today in false equivalencies, grocery giant Kroger could not keep its 15th Ave E store open but is adding a pub to its University Village QFC.
The company has filed for a liquor license for the new Q20 Public House inside the busy U Village mall grocery.
The pub concept isn’t a first for the parent company to the QFC and Fred Meyer chains.
Kroger needed to close its 15th Ave E QFC… but is adding a "pub" to its U Village store pic.twitter.com/zgGMXFisr8
— jseattle (@jseattle) August 10, 2021
It debuted the Q20 brand in Kirkland as part of the August 2019 opening of its first new store in ten years. The Q20 concept reportedly builds off the success of QFC’s first pub in a grocery venture — QFC’s Cork & Tap pub in Bellevue.
The new project follows the closure of two QFC stores in Seattle including the 15th Ave E location in a tiff with the city council over Seattle’s $4 an hour COVID-19 hazard pay. That hazard pay ordinance, by the way, could be lifted soon depending on when the council returns to the issue after a scheduled vote was delayed this week. The 15th Ave E store — which has been an active grocery for decades — remains shuttered and fenced off.
As grocery corporations continue to try to find ways to build up the in-person shopping experience and add opportunities to improve the industry’s margins, grocery bars and cafes aren’t limited to the Eastside. The Broadway Whole Foods opened in 2018 with a bar area featuring beer on tap and television for anybody looking to get a little tipsy and enjoy some sportsball on their trip to pick up toilet paper and salad fixings.
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How is this a false equivalency? Are you referring to equating a high traffic store in a luxury mall to one that is in a mostly SFH neighborhood with multiple other grocery stores within one mile? Oh sorry that is the false equivalency you are making so I’m not sure what you are referring to.
It a false equivalency because the two things are completely unrelated.
I assume this is some sort of attempt at absurdist sarcasm where the author know and declares up front that it’s a false equivalency and then writes the article outlining the false equivalency anyway?
That QFC on 15th was a shithole and anyone that doesn’t think so is either lying to you or can’t see through some type of heavy nostalgic fog that clouds their brain. Same for the one they closed in Wedgewood.
Not everything has to be a big deal. The stores sucked, they probably barely broken even before Holmes, Sawant, Herbold, et al decided to de facto legalize shoplifting and before Mosquida decided she needed to buy some union votes with mandatory hazard pay. So the company shut them down. Cool, that happens. So does investing in ones that perform well. It’s just the way the world works.
I think you would be happier living in some other city than Seattle.
Something tells me No chop wouldn’t be happy anywhere…
Was completely happy in seattle for 20 of the last 23 years, but yeah, it’s gone off the rails the past few years and so yes, sadly and begrudgingly I am moving my family to the eastside later this month (and after that move will no longer post here since the issues won’t really concern me that much). It’s bittersweet but with no end to the current madness in sight it’s the decision that I have unfortunately had to make.
So yeah, go ahead and celebrate, but I think there will come a time where a lot people will regret supporting these current politicians and policies.
Great, you can go be happy somewhere else and in turn, someone else can move in and be happy in Seattle. And bonus: you’ll be closer to Dori Monson too, so you can get your anti-Seattle echo chamber opinions given to you!
It’s a win-win!
They’ll be happy until their cars get prowled and the house gets robbed.
The problem with newbie kids like you is you think you know everything, but what you don’t realize is that Seattle used to nicer, cleaner, safer, and cheaper. So yeah, thank you to the moron that paid $725K for an 1100 sq foot house that has been broken into once already this year and is close to a park that has garbage, needles, and human waste in it. Enjoy!
My arguments have nothing to do with Dori or political parties. Look around you, do you really think that the leaders of this city are doing a good job? What part of the city that the government controls (not private businesses) is better now that is was 10 years ago? Parks, nope. Traffic and transportation, nope. Bridges and infrastructure, nope. Schools, nope.
If you could see beyond your own nose you would see that the argument is about effectiveness not political parties. Because I want a city government that actually accomplishes something beyond pointless virtue signaling you attack me? Is that really where the left is headed? Expunging all diversity of thought and not holding your elected officials accountable? Sure sound like another party this country has. You should elect people that can actually accomplish the things the city needs, not ones that make you feel good because they can “own trump” on tic tok or whatever it is that appeals to you kids these days.
Sorry bub, I’ve been here a long time and the only part of your statement that matches reality is that Seattle used to be cheaper. The problem is: Seattle was and still is a desirable place to live and (almost) everyone wants to move here. If your other claims were correct, Seattle would be a desolate ghost town, like a lot of rust belt cities became. You should go visit the rust belt to see what terrible cities with terrible governments really look like.
Your claims are so lockstep with Dori’s anti-Seattle drivel that I’m not convinced you aren’t Dori.
Barring schools and traffic, they definitely aren’t worse. Schools definitely took a beating during COVID, but so did school everywhere. Traffic is certainly worse, but that’s because again, (almost) everyone wants to move here. Transportation is getting much better thanks to investments in it and our parks have seen a slew of improvements in the past decade.
You don’t seem to indicate why you think they are worse.
Look, if you don’t like Seattle, then move already. Don’t come onto a neighborhood blog and sling a bunch of false, right wing media talking points and not expect to get called out on your BS. You act like Seattle is some kind of dystopian wasteland, which is easily disproven by walking outside. Every major city has its flaws and if you hyper focus on those flaws, I can see why your outlook on reality is so curmudgeony.
Good luck in the burbs!
I guess I’ll just have to trust you that my arguments sound like Dori’s, because outside of Seahawks post game shows I’ve never listened to a minute of him.
I get it though, your argument is; Seattle is great, has no problems at all, all the government officials and politicians are doing an exactly perfect job and are completely above reproach or questioning, and if you do question their effectiveness you are a right wing nut job and maybe enemy of state too? I may be better off in the burbs, but it sounds to me like you might be better off in North Korea or Russia since your are so offended by questioning your dear leaders effectiveness.
There’s your problem. You seem to think that things are either perfect or dystopian. Myself and nobody have ever claimed that Seattle is perfect. Yet some people seem to understand that as Seattle is a shithole dystopia.
Your response then devolves into some mentally deranged rant about how everyone that doesn’t agree with your opinion doesn’t belong in America. I’m still not accusing you of being a right wing nut job, but your views and comments sync up 100% with theirs.
Again, I wish you luck in the suburbs.
Absolutely agree. While it was the closest store to my home, it was a horrible QFC. The staff was great though. I can imagine the upkeep of the store was high with the constant need for security. Fingers crossed this space is taken up but a decent grocery store, and maybe fill in the parking lot with additional retail.
“That QFC on 15th was a shithole.”
It was a small store, but it hardly deserves the epithet you use.
Agree with you on the City Council, though, and on Holmes.
Yeah… that was my reaction too…. If there’s any false equivalency it’s to think that the tiny QFC on Capitol Hill had much if anything to do with a big one in a shopping mall in the U District.
j are you having a bad year? I used to come here for even-handed, smart, local content. Between this and the weird story excusing Andrew Houston for not paying rent, I think the personal commentary is leaking in a bit much. And it’s weird commentary.
The last year+ has been tough on everyone, I sincerely hope that you and CHS weather that storm and don’t just become another blog with personal commentary (albeit a popular one)!
Thanks for reading!
What a strange way to look at things….
The false equivalency is that they couldn’t afford to keep the stores open because of Staffing cost so they are going to add more staff to a different store. So Staffing cost really wasn’t the issue. They just wanted to slow down and hurt the local community so that they didn’t have to pay a fair wage outside of Seattle. The QFC was always busy on 15th. However they may have looked at the long term plans and said well let’s just pull the plug now because the building’s coming down in two years anyhow. The site will effectively rot now for 24 months. Thanks Kroger!
Maybe it needs to drink to forget how many people it laid off.
So what?! WTF do you all think your entitled to dictate how and where a grocery store operate?? It’s a free friggin country the owners are taking the risk on running their business, they are are free to run it however they want to. If you don’t like it well then don’t ship there.