Landlord sues Sno-Isle Food Co-op, alleging building damage

EVERETT — A property owner filed suit earlier this month against a community-owned Everett grocery store, alleging that refrigeration equipment the grocer uses is causing damage to the 133-year-old building it occupies.

The Sno-Isle Food Co-op, located in downtown Everett in the historic Everett Public Market building, is a collectively owned grocery store governed by an elected board of trustees. The building it is located in on Grand Avenue was built in 1892, according to a document shared with The Daily Herald.

In the lawsuit, the building’s owner alleged that the Co-op installed compressor and condenser units — components of the store’s refrigeration equipment — in a separate ground-floor unit underneath the grocery store. After installing that equipment, the owner alleged, the room has become “persistently overheated,” creating a potential fire hazard and straining the building’s heating and cooling system.

When a heating company inspected the site, it determined that the room, known as Unit 102, is “overloaded well beyond its design capacity” and presented safety risks, according to a document shared with The Herald. On one day in February 2025, the room reached nearly 100 degrees on a snowy day, according to a declaration filed in court by Tami Agassi, the owner and manager of the Everett Public Market building.

The lawsuit, known as an unlawful detainer action, is part of the eviction process in Washington. If successful in court, the building’s owners could force the Co-op to vacate the ground-floor unit below the grocery store and pay fees for damages.

Tye Ferrell, the president of the Sno-Isle Food Co-op’s board of directors, wrote in a statement Thursday that the grocer “has been and continues to be a responsible, long-term tenant.” He declined to comment on the specific claims or allegations made in the lawsuit, citing the pending litigation, but said the Co-op would address them through the legal process.

“Our priority is to continue serving our members, employees, and the broader community,” Ferrell wrote. “The Co-op will maintain standard operations and is committed to providing healthy, sustainably sourced food while continuing its longstanding support for the Everett community.”

Agassi said the lawsuit, filed in Snohomish County Superior Court on Nov. 3, is only part of the story. Other documents she shared with The Daily Herald alleged that damaged equipment, recurring leaks and other water intrusions in the Co-op had damaged the building’s hardwood floors and leaked into ground-level areas where other tenants were located.

“I’m just hoping they make the repairs they need to repair. I can see that it’s going to be expensive for them, but this is almost 30 years of tenancy that should have been maintained, should have been amortized over 30 years,” Agassi said in an interview Thursday. “It has to be done. You can’t continue to leak to the bottom floor.”

In a letter sent by the Co-op’s attorney to the landlord, shared with The Daily Herald, the Co-op argued that it had taken steps to address the building owner’s concerns, including purchasing new equipment to prevent leaks. The business also said it plans to work with the landlord to make repairs to portions of the flooring that are damaged and argued it had put significant effort toward finding a solution for the condenser and compressor units, according to the letter.

It’s possible the grocery store could end up facing eviction and additional financial penalties due to the “inadequate maintenance in its leased space,” Agassi wrote in an email to The Herald.

“Sno-Isle has operated in this building for nearly three decades, which makes this outcome especially disappointing,” she wrote. “But after years of complaints and more than a year of breach notices, inspections, and documented damage—including recurring and undisputed water intrusion through historic flooring and mechanical issues acknowledged by the Co-op’s own board—we had no choice but to take legal action to prevent further harm to the property.”

The Sno-Isle Food Co-op opened in March 1997 and has since become a popular source for groceries in the city. Over 11,000 people are member-owners, meaning they’ve paid an initial $100 fee in exchange for the right to elect leadership and receive dividends when the grocery store is profitable. The Co-op is the closest grocery store to Everett’s downtown core.

“Sno-Isle will continue contributing to numerous community programs, including food-access initiatives, partnerships with local nonprofits, and support for downtown revitalization efforts,” Ferrell wrote in his statement. “We remain focused on protecting the Co-op’s future and continuing the positive role it plays in Everett and surrounding communities.”

A hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for Dec. 8.

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