Uwajimaya Contact:
Alan Kurimura
206-624-3215
Email: alank@uwajimaya.com
Uwajimaya to open new store in Bellevue
Former Bellevue Larry’s Market site will be new home
Bellevue – November 1, 2010 – Uwajimaya, the premier provider of Asian gifts and groceries in the Pacific Northwest, has signed a twenty-year lease for 35,000 square feet in the former Larry’s Market site, located at 120th and 8th Avenue in Bellevue. Uwajimaya plans to open the store in spring 2011.
“When doors open next spring this Uwajimaya will have a full array of Asian groceries, fresh produce, specialty meats and seafood with a butcher shop that cuts on site, a deli offering prepared foods and Uwajimaya’s popular steam table of Asian dishes, and of course Asian gifts, toiletries and house wares. We will have more of everything with the same quality that our customers have come to expect,” said Hiroshi Hibi, third generation member of Moriguchi family and Uwajimaya’s most seasoned store director.
“Because of the growth on the Eastside and in our customers, we’ve wanted to enlarge and update our Uwajimaya Bellevue for several years,” said Tomoko Moriguchi Matsuno, Uwajimaya President and CEO.
“We are very excited to stay in Bellevue and t this new location it enables us to serve a broader market within walking distance to downtown Bellevue, and still be convenient for our current loyal customers using I-405,” added Matsuno. . “In addition, I like being close to Bartell Drugs. They are a local, family owned business similar to Uwajimaya. Together, we make this a premier location,” said Hibi.
Uwajimaya will be moving from their current location at 15555 NE 24th St. & Bel-Red Road in the spring of 2011.
TRF Capital LLC is the owner and management company of the site and store. Formally the home of Larry’s Market, the store totals 60,000 square feet. Uwajimaya will be leasing 35,000 square feet, making the store their second largest. The Seattle International District store is their largest Uwajimaya.
“We will market the remaining 25,000 square feet with a nod to Uwajimaya,” said Doug Exworthy, spokesperson for TRF Capital LLC. “It will most likely be a tenant which sells home, office, electronic, sporting or soft goods.”
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About Uwajimaya
Uwajimaya is an 82-year old business, owned and managed by the Moriguchi family with four Uwajimaya Asian Foods and Gifts Markets in Washington and Oregon, and wholesale and food processing units. Uwajimaya markets are noted for the quality and variety of Asian foods, produce and seafood. The Moriguchi’s and Uwajimaya have been recognized for their civic involvement and volunteering in the community.
About TRF Capital LLC
TRF Capital, LLC provides multi-disciplinary development, asset management, and property management services. Its development portfolio includes retail community centers, neighborhood centers, strip centers, and office buildings. TRF Capital, LLC was formerly known as TRF Pacific, LLC. The company was founded in 1975 and is based in Seattle, Washington
