A Visit to The Little Store in its final days

Story and photos by David Carlos

I had never been to The Little Store at Richmond Beach (2002 NW 196th St, Shoreline). But in ten days, this longtime mini-mart will close for good.

Time for me to visit it for the first time, I thought. My wife and I walked through the open door and were alarmed by a sudden electronic feminine voice that chimed, "Welcome!"

Then a nice lady behind the counter said a warm, human hello. I asked what will happen next. She said she didn't know.

What I expected: A quaint, old-fashioned grocery store with canned goods stocked neatly on the shelves. Perhaps some donuts, since a sign outside said, "Fresh Baked Goods."

What I saw: Aisles in disarray, like someone was moving out of their home and not sure how to pack the remaining items.

Empty shelves. Remaining knick-knacks like tennis balls, toiletries, and mac-and-cheese boxes. These were items less demanded and passed over by customers.

Maybe in the next few days someone will come by and buy them. Or maybe the owner will write them off as a loss and take them home.

Overall, a scene of a business in its last throes of existence.

What comes next? The property owner, Alan Gross, will be remodeling the building, and therefore didn't renew the lease. The business can't be sold to a buyer, since the building won't be available. You can't win for losing.

There's a GoFundMe account created to help the business owners: 

"For the past 19 years, Sung and Sun Gwak have operated The Little Store at Richmond Beach providing grocery and home items as well as, most importantly, friendly faces, to our neighborhood. They have poured their time and money into the store to provide the merchandise that the neighborhood needs and wants.

"We started this Go Fund Me page to provide them a financial THANK you for all they have done for Richmond Beach these past 19 years and to hopefully give them a start on their next business. Please join us in donating to their next stage of life."

We tried hard to find something, anything, to buy. We only found a jar of salsa and a can of nacho cheese dip. The price: Two for one. What a deal.

The building itself has been some type of store for almost 100 years, since 1927. The rumor is that after some upgrades for safety and aesthetics, it will one day serve as a neighborhood store once more.