BIZNOTE: Alki Smoke Shop and Grocery wraps a successful first week

By Hayden Andersen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Nestled next to Alki Surf Shop at 2622 Alki Avenue SW, Alki Smoke Shop and Grocery is the beach neighborhood’s newest store. Today marks one week of business, owner Jane told us, saying that she’s incredibly grateful for the community’s response.

What became Alki Smoke Shop and Grocery started first as an idea for a restaurant, although she quickly realized that something the beachfront was sorely lacking was a grocery. “Alki is a really popular destination,” said Jane, “and we had a great opportunity to lease a small space. This will be perfect for the neighborhood, especially in the summertime.”

The grocery currently stocks smoke-shop items such as cigarettes, as well as a variety of snacks (such as mac and cheese, spaghetti, and cereal), and some household products (paper towels, tissues, cleaning products, batteries).

Jane says they have no plans to stop there, and the warm community reception has inspired them to keep expanding their stock, including purchasing a cooler by the end of this week to stock eggs and dairy products. “Lots of neighbors have dropped by and welcomed us,” she said. “We’ve appreciated it so much, and we’ve been asking people what they want to make a list and meet the community’s needs.”

Alki Smoke Shop and Grocery is open from 9 AM to 9 PM, 7 days a week (in the space that held Brocante Beach House before their move to The Junction). You can reach the store at 206-566-6618.

SupportAlki! November 5, 2025 (10:16 pm)

YAYYYY!! The residents of Alki will greatly appreciate this. And of course, wonderful for guests visiting for a weekend. LOVE IT!!

B November 6, 2025 (12:59 am)

Reply

Awesome! I delivered them food one day while they were building out the place. Seems like a cool family! Good luck! Serves a need for sure

KT November 6, 2025 (4:00 am)

Hopefully grocery sales will be so lucrative she can drop the tobacco products.

Jsteez November 6, 2025 (9:54 am)

Reply

You can be happy and hopeful for someone’s success without needing to say more.
IDC9 November 7, 2025 (1:09 pm)

Reply

I would imagine the margin on tobacco products is greater than the margin on groceries. Grocery stores typically run on thin margins. Even so, the fact that the grocery selection at this brand new store is already set to expand shows that tobacco is not the only thing that will hopefully be keeping this store in business for many years to come.

Mike November 6, 2025 (4:25 am)

Why are we celebrating a smoke shop??? Unless it’s smoked meat, but it says it’s cigarettes.

Carole November 6, 2025 (11:21 am)

Reply

I see we all agree that we have a big elephant in the room. Please remove the smoke, and then I will shop. Very sincerely.
Vapedesert November 6, 2025 (1:28 pm)

Reply

Cigarettes may be the least of the euphemistic “smoke shop items.”
Their Alki location will be popular with the clouds of vape crowd, (who are also partial to crash and grabs).
I too, hope they can eliminate the smoke offering.

Actualperson November 6, 2025 (5:18 am)

Wish them well. The good size market we did have at 63rd and Alki couldn’t compete on prices so other than last minute needs people were happy to drive up the hill to the Admiral district stores. Do have to ask though-that many smokers here?

Frog November 6, 2025 (11:51 am)

Reply

I visited the store you mention near 63rd, and it seemed like essentially a wine and beer store with a token shelf of random groceries. Even then, it couldn’t compete on price with the abundant offerings up the hill, and didn’t survive Alki rents. It’s very hard for a small store to stock and consistently sell through perishable items like milk, eggs, and bread. Seattle urbanists fantasize about Manhattan densities with cute little bodegas everywhere, but even in Manhattan (from my casual observation) Duane Reade is handling 90% of the grocery volume with a much larger store footprint.
- Actualperson November 6, 2025 (1:14 pm)
  
  Reply
  
  Frog. You must be thinking of the market that was on the 4000 block of Beach Drive-now La Rustica. The 63rd and Alki market was quite large and had a large selection groceries. It was sold and rebuilt with large roll up doors along Alki Ave with large bins of fresh veggies.
- Jay November 6, 2025 (1:53 pm)
  
  Reply
  
  If I recall correctly, the business was doing well but the landlord decided that they didn’t want a convenience store there and terminated the lease to open the space up for restaurants. I remember talking with old timers how the shop paid rent through the recession and it was really bad on the landlord kicking them out. It was a great little shop.
Kathy November 7, 2025 (10:13 am)

Reply

Judging from the number of cigarette butts found littering Alki Beach I would say there are a lot of smokers that come to Alki. Maybe the store could post a sign, “Dispose of your cigarette butts responsibly.” By the way, FROG, you probably don’t remember the IGA or the store that replaced it (where Cactus is now) that was full service including a deli.
alki_2008 November 8, 2025 (1:30 am)

Reply

Smoke shops cover a lot more than standard nicotine cigarettes. It’s a much more expansive category than nicotine.

Scarlett November 6, 2025 (11:21 am)

Generally I’m a live and let live, though access to tabacco products is very problematic for the subset of the population who suffer from mental illness. They can’t be legally restricted from buying smokes, but they don’t have the judgement to weigh the detrimental health consequences. It’s very distressing and frustrating for families of those people.

Jake November 6, 2025 (2:15 pm)

Reply

I smoke and will use this shop.
- Scarlett November 6, 2025 (3:47 pm)
  
  Reply
  
  So there – take that! What an utterly juvenile comment.
  - Pete November 6, 2025 (7:52 pm)
    
    Reply
    
    Wait until you hear about alcohol!
Jake November 6, 2025 (2:18 pm)

Reply

“I’m live and let live, but sometimes I like some micro fascism and want to dictate what you can live without”
- Gandy November 6, 2025 (5:59 pm)
  
  Reply
  
  Restricting access to harmful substances that affect public health is not fascism. Not even “micro fascism,” whatever that’s supposed to mean.
zark00 November 6, 2025 (5:27 pm)

Reply

You believe tobacco and nicotine products should be completely illegal, controlled substances, because some people can not make intelligent decisions about self harm?Honestly, that is one of the most naive, self-absorbed, childish, ridiculous opinions I’ve heard. People with mental health problems eat themselves to death. You want to make dortitos illegal too? They drink too much too – back to prohibition? Obesity is an epidemic in America, you should not be allowed to buy a hamburger.
- Carole November 7, 2025 (12:46 pm)
  
  Reply
  
  Koo. Your ideas are all good but today the focus is on smoking. It is so last century and it’s not a good look anymore. And vaping is even more disgusting. Love, Smokey The Bear.

Rich November 6, 2025 (1:31 pm)

Define “successful.” Effective at furthering the number 1 cause of death in this country?

Foop November 6, 2025 (11:22 pm)

Reply

I don’t care what people do in their own time. No one is forcing a cigarette on me.Everyone here up in arms about this stuff yet where are you on the to 3 causes of child fatalities, issues we could actually impact locally

Supporter of new store November 6, 2025 (1:58 pm)

Good grief people let’s not judge! let’s just congratulate these new owners and shop there!like the neighborhood didn’t do when the big grocery store had to close where Cactus is now located

IDC9 November 7, 2025 (1:14 pm)

Reply

Very well said!

Gina November 6, 2025 (5:41 pm)

Geez— what on earth is with these comments! I’d have thought the community would resoundingly agree that we’ve been sorely missing having a grocery store—or even a bodega-like corner store— on Alki! This is a net positive by every measure, and I look forward to checking this place out. I can’t wait to be able to walk to grab some groceries, finally! I hope they continue to expand their stock. But really, I’m shocked to see so many comments basically stretching to find reasons to take issues with what is so obviously a good addition to Alki. I don’t mean to be too incendiary, but do some people just like to find/take issue with anything and everything? You know that grocery stores sell cigarettes and tobacco products too, right? It feels like cutting off your nose to spite your face, to be honest— I truly just don’t get it!

CMB November 6, 2025 (6:56 pm)

FYI: Smoking causes over 480,000 deaths annually in the U.S., making it the leading cause of preventable death. This includes approximately 41,000 deaths from secondhand smoke exposure each year. Smoking can reduce a person’s life expectancy by about 10 years and is linked to a wide range of diseases

Eddie November 6, 2025 (7:50 pm)

Reply

Wonderful that this new business is operating in the area, and hopefully they will be successful. I don’t care one way or the other if adults choose to smoke (as long as I don’t have to smell it or see the trash left in our environment.) I don’t think its a good choice for them, and I think it costs society more than is evident to most people. I think it’s well past time for the government to stop supporting the tobacco industry (think crop support and subsidies).I see a time in the not too distant future where enough Americans acknowledge that smoking isn’t good for them and they don’t start using, or voluntarily quit. There will always be holdout and hardcases, but frankly, they’re killing themselves off, and while that’s sad, they won’t be using tobacco all that much longer.”Tobacco Free by 2043″. Not by edict or law, but by individual choice. Get America out of the tobacco business.

Adam November 6, 2025 (8:25 pm)

I would just call it a grocery store..put the smoke stuff in the store and word will get around that you sell smoke/vape stuff.its like Safeway – people know you can buy cigs but you would not call it “Safeway smoke and grocery”I would take “smoke” off the sign. Bad business Just a thought

Eddie November 6, 2025 (9:19 pm)

Reply

Agree.In the old days, a similar store might have carried “Adult Magazines”, but wouldn’t have called attention to that segment of their product offering in their store’s name.

helpermonkey November 7, 2025 (8:07 am)

If you don’t like tobacco, don’t smoke it. Very, very simple solution for all the gripers in the comments here. Live and let live and let this business owner run their business how they see fit. If you want a store that doesn’t sell smokes, open one and shut up. The ugly side of West Seattle always comes out here, predictably as the rain.

Scarlett November 7, 2025 (10:41 am)

Reply

Yeah, no I won’t shut up, thanks anyway. Tabacco is a known carcinogen and as I’ve said above the seriously mentally ill smoke at a far higher rate than the rest of the population. This needs to be addressed. Your comment is textbook example of the fallacy of over-simplication, by the way, when you reduce those who are concerned to “gripers.”
- alki_2008 November 8, 2025 (1:34 am)
  
  Reply
  
  Over-simplication is assuming that smoke means tobacco.
Carole November 7, 2025 (1:44 pm)

Reply

Monkey, that is simple not true. Ugly does not always come out here.What is true is this: smoking is ugly.

Former NYC November 7, 2025 (8:18 pm)

All these pearl-clutching tobacco comments would probably cease if this place just dropped the “smoke” in the name and called themselves a bodega, and kept all the same products. I don’t see these people up in arms about the 7-11 up the hill, full of vices. Serious suggestion though. Bodega Alki has a nice ring to it.

Gina November 8, 2025 (3:36 pm)

Reply

You know what, I agree with this. I take no issue with their offerings (just looking forward to them expanding their stock), but it’s a cuter name and better branding. It’s true, it’s basically no different than a 7/11 (but better, because it’s a local small business instead of corpo) so I don’t get the uproar. I can understand that it might have more to do with its branding/positioning, though; calling it “Bodega Alki” or similar might do well to address concerns to those of more tender sensibilities. Besides, the business is brand new so it’s the ideal time to make a change like that, if they’re going to. You might want to actually reach out and suggest it to them. Jane was super approachable when I stopped in; she wants to know what people want to see in stock, they’re building a list, they want to hear suggestions. I don’t know how easy it is to make a change like that, but it’s probably easier now than later. (Not that they have to— I’ll support this business regardless! But I think your idea is good.)