Sno-Isle Co-op hopes to move into new downtown location by 2028

Published 1:30 am Thursday, May 21, 2026

EVERETT — A popular community-owned grocery store in Everett is planning to move to a new location in the city’s downtown by 2028, staff at the grocer said.

The Sno-Isle Food Co-op has remained in its same location in the Everett Public Market building on Grand Avenue since it first opened in March 1997. But the store has since outgrown the space it occupies, about 5,000 square feet, in a building that’s more than a century old.

The co-op has floated the idea of moving locations for about a decade, but the process is beginning to move with more urgency. In a May newsletter, the co-op announced that it had hired a consultant to begin the search for a new downtown location, and in the coming months, the grocer plans to begin a capital campaign to raise funds for the upcoming move.

“We’re putting our money where our mouth is and really making it happen,” said Tom Williams, the co-op’s recently hired general manager, in an interview Wednesday.

There are a few requirements that the Sno-Isle Food Co-op is looking for in a new location. A major one is a larger space — at least 10,000 square feet, Williams said. With that much space, the store could offer a community space, a full meat counter, an in-house bakery and more local produce, said Abby Powell, the co-op’s marketing manager. The grocer also wants a dedicated receiving dock, high ceilings and windows to let in natural light, and hopes to find a location with dedicated parking available.

The co-op also wants to stay in the city’s downtown, where it remains the closest grocery option for residents in the city’s core. That may be a challenge, Williams said, because large retail space in the area is limited, but he feels it will be possible to find a location.

“We’re really exclusively looking at downtown because we believe that being downtown is part of who we are and the community that we serve,” Williams said. “We don’t want to walk away from that.”

Moving will be a big shift for the store, which has stayed in one place for nearly three decades. A big part of the co-op’s identity is tied to that building, Powell said, with its vintage flooring, bananas hanging on racks and cash registers made from reclaimed wood.

But as the co-op moves, it hopes to preserve as much of its unique identity as possible, she said.

“We definitely want to have a space where we can bring that sort of gritty loveliness that Everett has to offer and incorporate that into the new space,” Powell said.

In November 2025, the co-op was sued by its landlord, Tami Agassi, who alleged that the grocer had improperly installed refrigeration equipment in an underground unit and that leaks at the co-op had damaged the building’s floors, along with other areas of the building. The lawsuit, an unlawful detainer, is part of the eviction process in Washington.

The co-op then filed counterclaims in response, alleging that Agassi made unreasonable demands and unjustly benefited from the grocery store’s investments in the building without reimbursement.

A hearing on the case planned for January was canceled, and since then, the case has remained in limbo, with neither party submitting filings and no hearings planned for the foreseeable future.

In an email Thursday, Agassi wrote that she did not have anything to add beyond the court filings at this time.

While the suit remains “annoying” and “a challenge,” Williams said, it was not a factor in the decision to move forward with the search for a new site.

“I understand why people would have that association, but we’ve been talking about moving for almost 10 years, and that was long before any of this was happening,” he said. “If I was to list all the reasons we are relocating, the lawsuit and all that drama is not even in the top 10.”

The co-op is owned by about 11,000 people across Snohomish and Island counties, who, in exchange for a $100 ownership fee, get the right to vote on co-op issues and receive dividends when the store is profitable. The store is governed by an elected board of trustees.

To help raise money for the move, the board is asking the co-op’s owners to participate in an election, asking whether or not the store should be allowed to sell preferred shares to raise capital for the relocation. Those who invest extra dollars in the form of the preferred shares wouldn’t receive extra voting power, but they would receive their initial investment back after a few years, plus more money in dividends if the store is profitable, Powell said.

Owners who have shopped in the store at least once in the past year will be able to vote beginning June 15 through July 15. An owner meeting is planned for July 15 at Sisters Restaurant, Powell said.

“It was a really great run in that space, but we’re excited about what’s coming next and the change, and taking who we are here and bringing it there as much as we possibly can,” Williams said.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.