Since we first reported two months ago that the last remaining space in the ex-Alki Market would become the “Alki Urban Market,” hopes have run high, as has the volume of questions. A few more facts emerged when a sign appeared on its door December 21st featuring an e-mail address with the “seattleurbanmarket.com” domain, thus confirming AUM will be part of a group of stores run by Eastside businessman Thampipillai Thilakarajah (WSB photo above). But the website doesn’t have Alki specifics (yet), so to find out more, we requested an interview. Here’s the result:
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Thampipillai Thilakarajah learned his trade from a mentor in Manhattan, where you’ll find a neighborhood deli/market on almost every corner.
But his learning didn’t stop when he left New York in the ’90s; he is passionate about research and feedback. Even the name of his upcoming Alki store, which he hopes to open around February 1st, stemmed from a lot of discussion and consideration — he said he was asked, “shouldn’t it be the Alki Beach Market?”, but as he looked at the condos and apartments around the area, it became clear to him that “urban” made more sense. His group of neighborhood stores has now grown into double digits, so he seems to have found a niche.
As we talked inside his market-to-be on New Year’s Eve morning, he was eager to share all the details of what it will look like and what it will offer, though the space is still in raw-enough shape that he didn’t want the interior photographed — counters are in, the walls are pleasant shades of cream and brick, refrigeration and freezer units are in, but there’s a lot of work left to do.
Here is what Thilakarajah plans:
Facing into the store from Alki Avenue, the left front will be dominated by the deli area. Self-serve items will include two soup selections from Woodinville-based Stock Pot each day, brewed Caffe Appassionato coffee (he says espresso will be available too), and pastries from Bindi. The deli case will feature Boar’s Head meats and cheeses, as well as prepared salads, with employees behind the counter putting together made-to-order sandwiches (including panini) — he expects the menu board will be on the store’s west wall, over an area with a few tables as well as a corner-wrapping seating counter where customers can dine in if they choose.
Perpendicular to the deli case will be the checkout counter, with candy on its shelves like most stores, though Thilakarajah is quick to note that will spotlight imported European chocolate.
Going further into the store, just past the checkout counter, something that is likely to be wildly popular when the beach crowds arrive for summer — gelato, to be dished up/scooped out by store staffers.
Down the middle of the store space will be its wine rack — “I picked the good wine,” Thilakarajah says, “not too high-priced, not too low” — generally ranging up to $20 a bottle, he says. Lining the wall to the left, a small area with sundries such as painkillers, a cold case with items such as cheese, some pre-made sandwiches, and a small selection of produce — “basic fruits and veggies,” as the proprietor puts it, such as lettuce, tomatoes, and apples.
The latter is something he knows well, having started his US business career many years ago exporting Washington apples to his native Sri Lanka, though he says the competition there is tough now, since they can get apples more cheaply from Southern Hemisphere producers such as New Zealand.
Returning to the store layout: In the back, some items Thilakarajah thinks customers might need on an “emergency” basis, between regular trips to the bigger grocery stores — paper towels or tissue, for example. “But no pet food,” he laughs, noting that All the Best Pet Care next door has that area covered.
A freezer case will line the west rear wall of the store, with ice cream including Haagen-Dazs and Ben and Jerry’s, bagged ice, and frozen food including pizzas and items from the organic Amy’s line, and heading back up the wall to the front will be the beverage coolers. Thilakarajah says the beer selection will include some microbrews but will not include any single-serving containers; the non-alcoholic offerings will feature water and “high-end juices” along with soda pop.
Oh, and let’s not forget the bread: He plans to stock varieties from Islands Bakery and La Panzanella.
He says Alki Urban Market will start with 7 am-10 pm hours, 7 days a week. “It could be later, if there’s demand,” he adds, especially in the summertime. And as he has learned at his other locations, from Bellevue to downtown to the North End, it’s really all about the walk-up business. “I’m not going to compete with the big markets. I know people will still go to Costco or to (their local supermarket). It’s just about filling the neighborhood needs, between shopping trips.”
We wonder who will be working at his store; he says he is still in the process of hiring, but has a formula of sorts that has worked at his other locations, including student workers – he says he often advertises directly on local college campuses. He smiles as he talks about the rapport he sees between his workers and their customers, as he makes a point of visiting each of his stores at least once a week. “I’m enjoying this,” he says, and he thinks that people on Alki will enjoy his business too – he says the comments he has heard from customers at other stores focus on each location being a “clean, small market, healthy-looking.” It’s clear that while his businesses could fit the term “convenience store,” he works hard to separate them from the image that term often conveys.
And he says he wants to hear from you, even before Alki Urban Market opens – that’s why his e-mail address is on the sign that’s on the door: tt@seattleurbanmarket.com – write to tell him what you hope he will offer, and once it’s open, write to tell him what you think. He talks a lot about having learned from each store he has opened – he hasn’t had to close one yet – and that knowledge is carrying him to even more expansion, as he looks to other possible locations as far away as Tacoma.
By the way, if you meet him in person, he goes by “Thampay” for short – pronounced TOM-pay. You can peek inside his other stores at their pages on his seattleurbanmarket.com site; asked which one Alki Urban Market will be most like, he thinks for a moment, and lands on his Westlake store, though he notes it’s in an older building and designed to suit those surroundings, unlike Alki, which is going into a building that’s less than five years old – built for the big market that closed almost exactly three years ago.
How will he succeed where that big market failed? Thilakarajah is confident that what he’s offering is what Alki neighbors and visitors need. Starting in about a month, he — and we — will see if he’s right.
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