Uwajimaya announces return to Tacoma
The store’s return highlights Tacoma’s historic Japanese American community.
By M.J. Cameron
Uwajimaya will return to Tacoma in 2027, bringing the longtime Pacific Northwest Asian grocery chain back to the city where it was founded nearly a century ago. It will replace the former Hobby Lobby at Tacoma Central near Interstate 5 and South 38th Street.
The store was founded in 1928 by Fujimatsu and Sadako Moriguchi in Tacoma’s Japantown. The business originally sold fishcakes and other staple foods to Japanese immigrant workers, including loggers and fishermen. Operations ended in the 1940s after the Moriguchi family was forcibly incarcerated during World War II.
The store’s name comes from Uwajima, Japan, the founders’ hometown. The original storefront was surrounded by dozens of Japanese-owned hotels, barber shops, dry cleaners, photography studios and restaurants according to International Examiner.
Historic maps compiled by Kazuo Ito, the book “Becoming Nisei” by UWT professors Lisa Hoffman and Mary Hanneman and the digital Tacoma Japantown exhibit document the extensive network of Japanese-owned businesses that existed throughout the city before World War II.
“I saw a map recently of Japan town in Tacoma from the 1920s and I was just blown away at how vibrant it was.” Denise Moriguchi, current CEO of Uwajimaya, said to KUOW. “There were barber shops and theaters and restaurants and hotels and bath houses, and it was a bustling, exciting, vibrant area.”
When Fujimatsu Moriguchi passed, he left the store for his four sons, and in turn they divided ownership shares with their sisters and mother. In the 1970s, the store moved to Seattle, according to HistoryLink.
On Jan. 7, Denise Moriguchi told KING 5 News the Tacoma store will follow a village-style concept like the Seattle flagship location, featuring food vendors and gathering spaces intended to serve as a community destination.
“Returning to Tacoma almost a century later is both exciting and deeply significant.” Moriguchi told KING 5 News. “Uwajimaya was founded in Tacoma’s Japantown by my grandparents nearly 100 years ago until they were forced into internment camps during World War II. We will honor their legacy as we re-establish Uwajimaya’s presence in this vibrant community.”
Uwajimaya currently operates three locations besides Seattle in Bellevue, Renton and Beaverton, Oregon, employing nearly 500 people. The planned 2027 opening of the Tacoma store, along with a new Issaquah location announced in July 2025, is expected to bring an additional 150 to 200 jobs to the region.
International Examiner reported that Tacoma’s downtown core continues to lack a full-service grocery store. While the city is home to other Asian grocery stores, including H Mart, Uwajimaya’s arrival would add a large pan-Asian grocery option in central Tacoma.
“The Tacoma store is special. It’s a lot more than just a new store.” Moriguchi said to International Examiner. “It’s a chance to pause and think about our history.”
The Tacoma location marks both a business expansion and a symbolic homecoming for the Moriguchi family. For many residents, the return of Uwajimaya represents renewed investment in central Tacoma and a public acknowledgment of the city’s prewar Japanese American history, much of which was disrupted by forced incarceration during World War II.
