MILWAUKIE, Ore. — New Seasons Market is opening a new location in Milwaukie.
The new market will fill a vacant grocer space in Milwaukie Marketplace, located at 10830 SE Oak Street. It is anticipated to open in fall 2023.
"As New Seasons Market continues to thoughtfully grow our community, Milwaukie is a natural choice for a new neighborhood market," said Nancy Lebold, chief executive officer of New Seasons Market, in an emailed news release. "We're thrilled to introduce ourselves to the neighborhood and connect the community to the best organic and locally sourced produce, meat and grocery staples."
The Milwaukie store is third new supermarkt New Seasosns is building n the Portland area.
A Lake Oswego store is projected to open in mid to late summer 2022 and a downtown Vancouver location is slated for an opening in fall of2023.
Mark Gamba, the Mayor of Milwaukie, said he is excited to have the space filled.
“For the last several years, a key shopping center in Milwaukie -- as a matter of fact, our only real shopping center -- has not had its main space filled,” said Gamba. The space was once occupied by Albertsons but has largely sat vacant since 2015.
“It really fills a real need, and frankly that shopping center has been dying and it will help revive that as well,” said Gamba.
When asked about whether the New Seasons would adequately solve the issue of a lack of grocery stores in Milwaukie due to its perceived higher prices, Gamba said he tested that theory himself. He said that based on his personal shopping, he found New Seasons to be less expensive than Safeway and only slightly more expensive than Fred Meyer.
“It feels like an expensive place because it’s high-quality stuff but price-wise, if you compare apples to apples, literally, then it’s not that much more expensive than [Fred Meyer]. A lot of people consider Fred Meyer to be a pretty reasonably priced place.”
The 28,000-square foot store will create over 100 jobs and support the regional food economy by connecting customers to local producers and their products, according to a release from New Seasons. Shoppers can expect:
• Local and organic produce sourced directly from Pacific Northwest farmers
• Full-service meat and seafood department with ready-to-cook house recipes
• Chef-prepared seasonal deli options
• Organic, local and everyday grocery staples and bulk foods
• Local craft beer, cider and wine, artisan cheeses, and sweet and savory baked goods
• Full-service floral department, high quality wellness items, and handmade home goods and gifts by local artisans
Gamba said he and his employees had been reaching out to grocers for years to show them that this location was a good market opportunity for them, given the growing population of Milwaukie.
“It paid off,” he said. “So we’re very excited New Seasons was the one that finally was able to work out the deal.”