The opening of a grocery store downtown, which doesnt have a full-line food store now, would be a boon to residents who live in new and converted multi-occupant buildings, and at least two specialty grocery chains are looking to see whether they can fill that need.


The chains, Whole Foods Market Inc. and Trader Joes Co. Inc., apparently are interested in the downtown-Spokane area, although Whole Foods Market also is looking at locations in other parts of the Spokane area, commercial real estate sources and downtown observers here say.


Trader Joes is definitely looking at Spokane, and there have been rumors that Whole Foods would be a great addition to downtown, says Marty Dickinson, president of the nonprofit Downtown Spokane Partnership (DSP), which promotes economic development in the city core. Were starting to be looked at more seriously by people who want to start farmers markets or bring grocery chains here.


Houston-based Whole Foods Market, a natural and organic foods chain, has more than 180 stores in North America and the United Kingdom, including two on the West Side, where its currently developing four more stores, its Web site says. Monrovia, Calif.-based Trader Joes is a specialty and imported foods retailer with more than 200 stores in 19 states, including 12 in Western Washington, according to its Web site.


The Downtown Spokane Development Plan, which the city of Spokane enacted in 1999, envisioned heightened demand for grocery outlets as commercial and housing activity increased downtown, Dickinson says. Since then, she says, renovation of commercial buildings and a hot condominium market have proved that prediction to be right, and the DSP is focusing on attracting grocery store chains and farmers markets here.


We absolutely need to bring a grocery store into downtown, she says. Its a top priority of ours in working with developers and real estate agents to bring that about.


Whole Foods Market is eyeing locations here for an outlet, says Chris Bell, a real estate agent at Tomlinson Black Commercial Inc. Whole Foods wants a building that has 60,000 square feet to 80,000 square feet of space and is within 20 minutes driving distance of 200,000 people, Bell says. The chain also typically looks for locations near areas that are highly populated by college-educated residents, he says.


Bell says he talked last March with a Seattle-based broker who handles Whole Foods real estate transactions in Washington, and the broker said he was looking at sites for Whole Foods in Spokanes downtown, near Gonzaga University, and on the North Side.


That broker declined to comment for this story. A spokeswoman for Whole Foods Market says it hasnt announced any store openings in Spokane, and that it typically releases such information when it announces its quarterly earnings.


Bell says its also been rumored that Whole Foods is considering a store in the proposed Kendall Yards development.


Tom Reese, project manager at Kendall Yards, says hes been talking to retailers and grocery stores, and that a grocery store would be a great anchor for the mixed-use development. He declines to disclose further details.


Dickinson says she has worked with Tomlinson Black Commercial to show properties in downtown Spokane to a representative from Trader Joes.


Bell says he showed the Ridpath Hotels Executive Court building last month to the Seattle-based real estate agent who handles Trader Joes real estate transactions in Washington state. Trader Joes is looking for a 12,000-square-foot to 14,000-square-foot building that has 60 to 80 parking spaces, Bell says.


The real estate agent who represents Trader Joes couldnt be reached for comment. A spokeswoman at Trader Joes says the company doesnt have anything to confirm about a possible store here.


Theyve been looking for months, Bell says. Theyre committed to doing a location here, and they want to be downtown near the freeway.


Mark McLees, a real estate agent at Tomlinson Black Commercial, says he has heard that Trader Joes has looked at the Top of China Buffet building, located at 202 W. Third, and the 32-story Vox Tower mixed-use building that developer Rob Brewster Jr. has said he wants to build at the east end of downtown.


Contact Emily Brandler at (509) 344-1265 or via e-mail at [email protected].