Just us or does the opening of new grocery store make your heart soar? Then again, when grocery shopping takes an average 400 hours a year out of your life, it's not hard to get excited about having more options to find affordable, quality food.
Ballard families are feeling that buzz with the opening of a New Seasons Market on NW Ballard Way on May 9. It's the second New Seasons in the Seattle area; the first opened on Mercer Island in November 2016.
Both locations offer goods from local farmers, ranchers and other food producers with a commitment to giving back to the community, including donating 10 percent of after-tax profits to local nonprofits and creating programs like Local Finds, which assists local suppliers in getting in front of shoppers.
The New Seasons Market is the most recent addition to the grocery scene in the popular Seattle neighborhood. AmazonFresh Pickup opened last year with PCC Community Markets planning a new location to open in Ballard next spring.
The influx of grocery options isn't a surprise considering the crazy growth that Ballard has seen in recent years. As one of the hottest neighborhoods in the country's fastest growing big city, Ballard has an estimated population of more than 13,000 and a median home value $499,100 (that's up 12.5 percent since 2016).
And all those people? They're going to need something to eat.