Uwajimaya Grand Opening Tomorrow

Flickr Photo/Vanessa Pike-Russell
Uwajimaya, while already open now for awhile, will be hosting it's Grand Opening at the Renton Village Shopping Center at 9 am tomorrow. From what I can gather, there will be Taiko drumming and Shinto Priests present to bless the store in true Japanese style.
Uwajimaya's four store locations (Seattle, Bellevue, Beaverton,Renton) will all be participating in four weeks of celebratory sales from July 15 - August 11, to commemorate the opening of the Renton Store. Uwajimaya's sales circular has all of the details, and for this first week, with every $25 purchase, customers will recieve a free copy of the cookbook by Uwajimaya entitled "Arigato",valued at $9.95.

I have family birthday duties to attend to - so you will have to go without me. I hope they have some yummy sampling of Asian treats for all of you to taste - I mean, what's an opening without food?

News on the street- Uwajimaya has already begun to make their roots in the Renton area grow. The "mucky-mucks" of Renton already gathered together for a $20 per head Grand Opening for the store, and all the proceeds went to the local Salvation Army. Great way to start the ball rollin' there, guys!

Uwajimaya
Renton Village Shopping Center
501 S. Grady Way Renton

Uwajimaya Opens it's doors today

Renton Village Shopping Center has a new shingle added to their line-up of stores - Uwajimaya. Today at 9 am the doors will open and a new era of grocery shopping will begin in what used to be the local Thriftway market. Uwajimaya is a specialty Asian grocery store that provides fresh produce and specializes in fresh seafood and meat . Their flagship store in Seattle is a mecca for many a shopper looking for anything from Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Indian - you name it, food provisions. Prices at that store are reasonable, staff courteous and store well maintained.

I tried to get a few shots in for you, being the intrepid Picaroon poster that I am, but the staff were hesitant to let me show you anything. The place was semi-full of produce and stocked shelves, but it was obvious that a lot more had to be done to make it to the 9 am deadline. But what I did observe looked good. They will have a weekly flyer with store specials, brightly colored and tasty in content. I can hardly wait.

What I was able to report on was the Human Resources Director, with over 20 years work history with Uwajimaya in Seattle, out slinging hamburgers on a grill to feed the workers going all out to meet the looming opening deadline.
I really like a place that looks after the welfare of it's workers. Bonus points already for our newest store addition. I think that if you work in the food industry, it should go without saying that you feed your employees. They are the back off of which you make your income and your best frontline media representatives. If they are happy, so will the customers they are serving. Can you tell that I thought the burgers looked yummy?

Head on over today and see what is new in the way of food in Renton.

Uwajimaya Renton Village Shopping Center 501 S. Grady Way
Regular store hours Monday - Saturday 7am-10pm Sunday 9am-9pm
www.Uwajimaya.com
Grand Opening Ceremony July 15, 2009

Thriftway is closing

You have just three weeks of some probably good sales shopping before Uwajimaya takes over the Thriftway Grocery Store located in the Renton Village Shopping Center. Starting on Sunday, the store hours will be 7 am until 8 pm and all stock is 20% off.
The new owners have a very solid history of providing excellent Asian specialty items as well regular supermarket fare, along with an emphasis on high quality produce, meats and fresh seafood. However, many will miss this store and the staff are having a hard time coming to grips with the sudden lack of employment. Seems you need to speak more than one language to meet the new hiring requirements at the store-to-be. Thriftway carried my favorite soap - guess it's time to stock up.
Renton Village Thriftway (425)226-2830 501 S. Grady Way, Renton

Photo:Chris G OR/Flickr