After postponing its planned summer opening, British Columbia-based Asian grocer T&T Supermarket announced Monday it has set a date to open its new Lynnwood location: November 13.
The store will be at Lynnwood Crossroads shopping center, at 19630 Highway 99, becoming the grocer’s second U.S. location. It opened its first, a 76,000-square-foot flagship store in Bellevue, last December, becoming Washington’s largest Asian grocery store.
At 30,000 square feet, the Lynnwood location is less than half the size, but it will be “small but mighty,” CEO Tina Lee said in a July 15 social media post. It will have a sushi station, Chinese barbecue carving counter, a self-serve food bar and a 150-item bakery. The store will also offer many of T&T’s bestselling items, such as its mango cakes and Hong Kong-style buns.
T&T, founded in Richmond, B.C., in 1993, operates more than 38 stores across Canada and in the U.S. The company was acquired in 2009 by Canadian retailer Loblaw Cos. Ltd. for $225 million Canadian ($198 million). The CEO is the daughter of T&T founder Cindy Lee.
Plans to open the Lynnwood store over the summer were delayed by unanticipated setbacks related to the absence of infrastructure T&T expected to be able to use from the previous grocery tenant, natural foods store Sprouts. Slow arrival of replacement equipment and other last-minute changes contributed to the delay.
T&T signed a 12-year lease for the Lynnwood space in April, with five renewal options of five years each, for a total of up to 37 years.
The delayed opening reflects challenges retailers face when converting existing grocery spaces, particularly when anticipated infrastructure from previous tenants proves unusable or incompatible with new operations. T&T’s expectation that it could utilize Sprouts’ existing equipment suggests the company sought to reduce buildout costs and timeline, a common strategy in retail conversions.
The 30,000-square-foot Lynnwood location’s smaller footprint compared to the Bellevue flagship may reflect market testing in a different demographic area or limitations of available retail space in Lynnwood Crossroads. Despite the reduced size, the inclusion of specialty stations; sushi, Chinese barbecue, bakery, demonstrates T&T’s commitment to maintaining its full-service Asian grocery concept.
The Lynnwood location positions T&T to capture customers in north King County and southern Snohomish County, an area with significant Asian-American population density but fewer specialty Asian grocery options compared to Bellevue and Seattle.
The 12-year initial lease with multiple renewal options totaling potentially 37 years signals long-term commitment to the Washington market and confidence in sustained demand for Asian specialty groceries.
T&T’s family succession, with founder Cindy Lee’s daughter Tina Lee serving as CEO, represents continuity in leadership vision while expanding the company beyond its Canadian roots into competitive U.S. markets.
