Uwajimaya’s flagship store in the Chinatown-International District, Seattle (Photo provided by Uwajimaya)
Uwajimaya will return to Tacoma with a new grocery store slated to open in 2027. The company has secured space at the Tacoma Central shopping mall, taking over the former Hobby Lobby site near I-5 and Highway 16.
Uwajimaya was launched in Tacoma in 1928 by Fujimatsu and Sadako Moriguchi, who first sold Japanese foods to local workers before opening a storefront in the city’s Japantown. Their operation ended in the 1940s after the family was forced into incarceration during World War II.
Today, Uwajimaya operates stores in Seattle, Bellevue, Renton, and Beaverton, Oregon. The Tacoma opening, along with a planned Issaquah location, will expand the chain from four to six stores by 2027.