Frank’s Quality Produce re-0pened on June 15, 2011 after a winter and spring long closure that was required so that earthquake retrofits could be made in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Frank’s Quality Produce is a longtime market resident, with members of the family having sold produce at Pike Place for four generations. Their stand, in the Corner Market Building, has long been one of my favorites and distinguished itself among the high-stalls as one of the last to still sell at least some produce grown on family-owned land and as one of the first to feature produce from local organic farms. Frank’s Quality Produce has been the primary produce supplier for Le Pichet since its opening in 2000 and continues to be an important supply source for both Le Pichet and Cafe Presse.
If you visited the Pike Place Market at any time since January 2011, you couldn’t have missed the work that was taking place. Nearly all the tenants of the Sanitary and Corner Market buildings were displaced, many to alternate locations within the Market and some simply closed for the duration of the work (welcome back Crumpet Shop…I missed you).
Frank Genzale Jr. who runs Frank’s Quality Produce says that he was lucky to have secured an alternate high-stall location inside the Market Arcades for the duration of the work. In fact, the alternate location worked out so well for Frank’s that rumor has it that they are investigating keeping the space for another stand.
Frank Jr also took advantage of the closure to remodel and update the original stand location. The new stand features a much more client friendly and open layout that allows shoppers to come behind the stand and make their own selections. Frank Jr says that shoppers have been coming behind the stand to help themselves for years even though the original stand layout made this difficult. No one really planned it, it just happened like that. So Frank figured, why not change the layout to accommodate the urge?
PS Frank Jr is a really nice guy, and PPS I can beat him at squash even though he has to be at least 10 years younger than I am.