KUOW - Corner stores are the cornerstone of Seattle's quest to become a 15-minute city

Corner Stores are Coming to a (Seattle) Neighborhood Near You!

This past December, Seattle City Council approved a new rule allowing corner shops, markets, or cafes to open in all residential neighborhoods.

Under the new rule, these neighborhood businesses:

  • Can be up to 2,500 square feet

  • Must focus on retail or food-related uses

  • Must close overnight between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM

It’s a thoughtful framework that balances neighborhood character with economic opportunity—and it opens the door for small, locally owned businesses to take root closer to where people live.

GSBA Advocacy Update

GSBA has advocated for this change since it entered policy conversations in 2024. Mayor Harrell’s administration kicked off the discussion by announcing support for corner stores in Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan – but only on corners. We saw the opportunity that corner stores can bring to neighborhood vitalization and created a coalition in partnership with Seattle Neighborhood Greenways and Futurewise to encourage Seattle policymakers to allow corner stores throughout residential neighborhoods – not just on corners.

The group set up a “Corner Store Crawl” to encourage community to visit Seattle’s existing corner stores and activate in support of the proposal.

We carried this advocacy to meetings with Seattle City Councilmembers who welcomed the idea. Two councilmembers were particular champions – Councilmember Mercedes Rinck understood the benefits of this policy and successfully introduced an amendment that removed the “corner-only” restriction to allow corner stores everywhere, and extended the potential hours that cafes can be open.

As Chair of the Comprehensive Plan Committee, (now) Council President Hollingsworth worked with stakeholders to dive deep into the proposal and its economic impacts and allowed the Committee time to approach the conversation with enough time for a nuanced discussion.

Learn More

GSBA is thrilled to see this new opportunity come to Seattle. Are you interested in learning more about corner stores, or thinking about opening one yourself? Reach out to Gabriel here.