The following article is being republished with permission from NextMLT.com

Demolition of the former grocery store at 23120 56th Ave W has begun to make way for temporary transit center parking during construction of the light rail station.

The building now being demolished had operated as a grocery store for over half a century prior to closing in 2016. The store had several names over the years including Foodland, Lucky’s, Food Merchant and most recently Roger’s Market Place.

A Neighborhood is Built

In 1949 Jack Peterson (1904-1996) and his partner, Albert L. LaPierre (1907-1989), began building simple, two-bedroom houses, on concrete slabs, measuring about 20 by 30 feet. The houses were being built in what is now known as Mountlake Terrace’s Town Center and Gateway neighborhoods. Peterson developed a construction model that resembled an assembly line. One crew prepared the site, laid the foundation, and put in the plumbing (which was embedded in the houses’ concrete floors); another put up the exterior concrete-block walls; a third did the interior walls and put on the roof. Interior painting and landscaping was left to the new homeowners. A row of houses could be completed within a few weeks.

First Life: Millwork Plant

Prior to being known as the neighborhood’s full-service grocery store, the building at the northwest corner of 56th Ave W and 232nd St SW was used for a different purpose. The structure was first erected in 1951 when it was used as a mill work plant producing lumber for the homes built in the neighborhood. The aerial photo below, taken in August 1951, appears to show construction of the original building in progress as the surrounding area is being developed.

Peterson-LaPierre bought more land and started building somewhat larger wood-framed houses, but assembly line techniques and economies of scale kept their prices low. The photos below show the interior and exterior of the mill work plant and a few of the “deluxe” wood-frame homes.

Second Life: Grocery Store

By 1954 the majority of the neighborhood was built out and the mill work plant was ready for its second life. On June 30, 1954 at 9 a.m. Mountlake Foodland, a full-service grocery store, opened to the public. The first advertisement below was printed in the June 29, 1954 edition of The Seattle Times. It touts 25,000 square feet of floor space and a restaurant featuring five cent coffee and full course dinners.

Eight years later the second advertisement, intended to entice Seattle World’s Fair visitors, spoke to what this grocery store had become, and what it would be for the next 50 years—the store with heart.

The grocery store changed hands several times over the years with the last iteration being Rogers Market Place. The store’s owner, Roger Bottman, passed away in January of 2016 and by the end of the next month the store had closed.

What Lies Ahead

While the property had been listed for sale since 2013 it wasn’t until later in 2016 that it was sold to a group of owners that included Alan Clark, a Seattle-based architect and developer. Clark’s team came up with a development concept that they intended to include a grocery store, residential units and a public plaza. In 2018 the property was sold again to another ownership group that have yet to release any plans for the property. For the time being, Sound Transit will be leasing the property to temporarily replace parking spaces displaced by light rail construction at the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center.

This building was a place where our homes were built, families were fed, friends were met and lives crossed paths. Hopefully whatever ultimately happens with the property, it will will once again be a community asset like it was for over 65 years.