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Uwajimaya: Seattle’s Asian Food Landmark

In the shadow of Safeco Field shoppers can find the flagship store of this Pacific Northwest specialty chain, known for its exotic seafood, expansive deli and the region’s largest sake selection.

Uwajimaya, the Pacific Northwest’s premier Asian grocer, got its start in 1928 when Fujimatsu Moriguchi began selling fishcakes to the Japanese workers of the logging and fishing camps in the Puget Sound. Named after the town of Uwajima where Moriguchi first learned his trade, the company now has expanded to four stores in Seattle, Bellevue, Wash., Beaverton, Ore., and a recently launched store in Renton, Wash.

Celebrating 80 years is a feat for any family business, but considering that in 1942 Moriguchi and his family were sent to the Tule Lake Internment Camp in California to live until World War II ended and then came back to Washington to rebuild, this success is all the more impressive. The company is now run by second-generation family members including CEO Tomoko Matsuno, one of Moriguchi’s daughters, and is considered such a local treasure that in 2008 Seattle’s mayor Gregory Nickels named October 15 as Uwajimaya Day.

The flagship store, the Seattle Uwajimaya Asian Food and Gift Market, is part of Uwajimaya Village, a combination retail and residential project in Seattle’s International District. Within the 55,000-square-foot retail space—which features a dramatic sculpted paper dragon hanging from the ceiling—shoppers find the largest sake selection in the Pacific Northwest, an expansive prepared food case featuring options ranging from premium sushi bento boxes to Greek baklava, an extensive gift section and a food court. Uwajimaya shares the retail space with other merchants including an outpost of famous Japanese bookseller Kinokuniya.

The Customers

Hiroshi Hibi, the director of the Seattle store, notes that in the early years the merchant catered to Japanese immigrants, “but as we grew, Uwajimaya became more of an international market and now we are visited by everyone.” The store is a frequent lunch destination for people living or working nearby (one of amazon.com’s main offices is located across the street). The closeness to both Safeco and Qwest fields helps bring in new customers and the variety of Asian foods offered draws customers from throughout the city.

“We used to be a niche market that catered to two or three demographics, but now we cater to everyone. But this also means that everyone is our competition. Even Safeway has an Asian section and fresh sushi,” says Hibi. “We are competing with all types of retailers and restaurants.”

Signature Departments

Uwajimaya has more than 30,000 SKUs of Asian packaged and perishable food but, as Hibi explains, the store is best known for the freshness and quality of its perimeter departments, including seafood, produce, meat and deli. “Customers know that if we don’t carry something they want, we will try to get it for them,” Hibi adds. Specialty departments such as the gift section and sake aisle are also a source of significant sales.

The seafood department is a draw for both home chefs and professionals because of its wide variety. Restaurants will call ahead to find out when certain types of seafood will be arriving fresh and, “they will be in first thing to pick the catch,” says Hibi. The department manager, Ken Hewitt, grew up in the seafood business. He oversees staff training, most of which is done in house, on how to handle the variety of items on offer. Selections include sashimi-grade maguro (yellowfin tuna), which can be purchased pre-wrapped or cut to order, as well as tanks of live Idaho tilapia, Dungeness crab and local Manila steamer crabs. On ice, customers can find Mediterranean mussels, whole Red rockfish, Dover sole, steamed tako (octopus) and fresh assorted fish heads (for $0.99 a pound). One of the most popular sellers is kasuzuke, black cod that has been marinated in sake paste which, notes Hibi, is often more commonly seen in high-end restaurants. The seafood department has a staff of 15 and during the weekend customers will be lined up five deep, says Hibi.

The deli is another draw and is usually packed from 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, he continues. Asian specialties from Japan, China, Hawaii, the Philippines, Korea, Thailand, India and Indonesia are available in the expansive prepared foods cold case as well as behind the made-to-order counter and on the steamer table. Grab-and-go items include Japanese bento mixed boxes with salmon, chicken teriyaki, pork cutlet and rice and broccoli. There are all kinds of sushi and sashimi on offer including sliced Indonesian sashimi, which is beautifully presented in a blue and white container with a lettuce leaf, a small flower and packets of soy sauce and wasabi. Other options include Vietnamese shrimp spring rolls, Hawaiian Musubi beef teriyaki, seaweed salad and barbecue pork buns. Last year, the company added a high-end sushi kiosk in the deli section featuring food such as kasu black cod, oysters and tempura shrimp. “Customers shop in this section instead of eating the same food in restaurants,” notes Hibi.

On the steamer table you’ll see squid stuffed with mushroom rice and unagi tofu. Udon, curry rice and barbecued meats are among the items that can be made to order. Nearby in the food court there are other savory and sweet lunch and dinner options. And throughout the area, shoppers will find non-Asian foods such as Greek spinach feta pie, Mexican tortillas and sweets such as baklava.

The produce department carries a range of conventional and organic fruits and vegetables including Asian specialties such as matsutake mushrooms, fresh wasabi root, Japanese eggplants, lemongrass and durian fruit. The nearby meat department sells locally raised beef and pork products including certified-organic chicken, Kobe American beef and Berkshire pork.

Vast Sake Selection

“We have the largest selection of Japanese, Korean and domestic sake to be found in the Pacific Northwest,” says Hibi. Products are priced from $10 for domestic sake to $130 for a premium imported bottle and selections range from the classic Japanese Otokoyama sake to sparkling, sweet and organic varieties. Most customers do their research in advance and walk into the store with specific sake in mind but, explains Hibi, there is a definite marketing trend of the bottles getting prettier and more hip, catering to a younger, female customer.

Other distinctive elements to the store include a large gift section featuring imported Japanese serving ware, kitchen gadgetry, kimonos and arts and crafts supplies. The dairy department is small because, explains Hibi, “many Asians are lactose intolerant.” But Uwajimaya carries a range of cheeses and milk in order to have staples for all customers. The store also has an expansive frozen and fresh noodle section, 25-pound bags of rice and countless varieties of soy sauce.

Store Layout and Merchandising

Uwajimaya sports an industrial feel with exposed beams and overhead pipes that is balanced by colorful signage featuring woks and chop sticks, hanging cloth sculptures (such as fish to help guide customers to the seafood department), tapestries and wide aisles to handle the large weekend and holiday crowds. “One week before and after Christmas it goes bonkers in here,” says Hibi. “You can’t walk in the store. Cars are lined up five blocks away to get in. We bring everyone in to work including family members, nieces, nephews and cousins. That’s how much labor it takes.”

Uwajimaya features the expected seasonal and holiday merchandizing (pumpkin displays at Halloween, for example) but, throughout the year, the retailer also holds special ethnic themed events such as Korea Week where all Korean products are put on sale, end caps feature Korean foods, there are in-store Korean dancers and kimchi cooking demonstrations. For Hawaii Week, Uwajimaya brings in hula dancers, a Hawaiian D.J. and a Hawaiian barbecue is set up outside.

Hibi notes that the store is doing more cross-merchandising including a Sukiyaki station, which includes a DVD playing on a loop showing how to make this dish of thinly sliced beef or firm tofu that is simmered in an iron pot along with vegetables, soy sauce and other ingredients. The station merchandises sliced meat, sauce, hot pots, bowls and everything else needed for the recipe nearby.

Though the Seattle store is the chain’s largest, the other locations offer many of the same features. The company also has a foodservice and food processing division as well as a small restaurant, Waji’s by Uwajimaya, found at Sea-Tac International Airport and featuring traditional Japanese foods along with contemporary Pan-Asian dishes. |SFM|

Susan Segrest is a contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine.

Uwajimaya Asian Food and Gift Market

600 Fifth Ave. S.
Seattle, WA 98104
206.624.6248
uwajimaya.com

Square feet of retail sales space: 55,000
Number of Employees: More than 185
Type of Location: Freestanding
Popular Beers: Asahi, Kirin and Sapporo, as well as small Japanese microbrews
Best-selling Snacks: Pocky sticks and snacks in all varieties and flavors.
Food Court Restaurants: Aloha Plates, Beard Papa’s Cream Puffs, Herfy’s, Noodle Zen, Saigon Bistro, Samurai Noodle, Shilla Korean BBQ, Thai Place, Utopia Frozen Yogurt and Yummy House Bakery.