🛒 Uwajimaya Announces Return to Tacoma in 2027 - A Historic Homecoming

Exciting news for Tacoma residents and fans of local heritage: Uwajimaya, the beloved Pacific Northwest Asian market, is returning to its roots with a new store planned to open in Tacoma in 2027.

📍 A Full-Service Grocery Store Returns Downtown

Uwajimaya has signed a lease for the former Hobby Lobby space at Tacoma Central, near Interstate 5 and South 38th Street, marking a significant return more than 95 years after the company was originally founded in Tacoma.

This new location is expected to offer a “village-style” concept  - similar to its flagship Seattle store - with food vendors, community gathering spaces, and a full selection of Asian groceries.

📜 A Long and Meaningful History

Uwajimaya was first opened in 1928 by Fujimatsu and Sadako Moriguchi in Tacoma’s historic Japantown (Nihonmachi). Originally a small grocery selling fishcakes and staple foods to local Japanese immigrant workers, it grew into a central part of Tacoma’s cultural landscape before World War II.

The store and many Japanese-owned businesses in Tacoma were lost in the 1940s after the Moriguchi family -  along with thousands of Japanese Americans on the West Coast - were forcibly incarcerated under Executive Order 9066.

After the war, the family relocated and built Uwajimaya into a thriving regional chain, with flagship operations in Seattle and additional stores in Renton, Bellevue, and Beaverton, Oregon.

The return to Tacoma isn’t just a business expansion  - it’s a full-circle moment highlighting resilience, history, and community legacy. CEO Denise Moriguchi, granddaughter of the founders, said the comeback is about honoring the roots of the business and the spirit of Tacoma’s early Japanese American community.

🤝 What This Means for Tacoma

• New jobs and economic activity: The new store is expected to bring 150–200 jobs to the region.
  
  
• A downtown grocery option: Downtown Tacoma currently lacks a major full-service grocery, so Uwajimaya’s arrival fills a notable gap in local retail offerings.
  
  
• Cultural recognition: The opening acknowledges Tacoma’s rich history, especially its vibrant pre-war Japanese American community.
  
  

🗓 Looking Ahead

Though the Tacoma location is still in the planning and build-out phase, excitement is building as the city prepares to welcome one of the Pacific Northwest’s most iconic grocery retailers back home. Keep an eye out for updates in 2026 as construction progresses toward the expected 2027 opening.