PCC Community Markets announced that it will open its relocated Kirkland store on Wednesday, March 2.

The new store is less than a mile away from where the co-op opened its second location back in 1978. Located at 430 Kirkland Way, the new store is 30 percent larger than the old location at approximately 19,000 square feet allowing the co-op to offer even more of its local, organic and sustainably-minded products.

“We have been bringing local, organic and healthy foods to the Kirkland community for over 40 years and now we will be able to offer even more choices at our new location,” Mike Stampalia, Kirkland PCC Store Director. “This will be a special place located right next to the Kirkland Performing Arts Center, Transit Center, swimming pool and playfields that will allow us to serve Kirkland for another 40-plus years to come.”

PCC’s new Kirkland store is the 5th co-op location to pursue the Living Building Challenge Petal-Certification by the International Living Future Institute, the world’s most rigorous green building standard.

To meet these standards, PCC focused on building with recycled materials and repurposed equipment from other PCC stores when possible, including shelving, racks, tables and even an ice machine; designing the new location to have more than three times the amount of windows – which brings in more natural daylight and significantly reduces indoor lighting energy use; and using a a carbon dioxide refrigeration system, which boasts 3,000 times less of a global warming potential than the synthetic refrigerants used in most grocery stores.

The store will also include a kitchen in which PCC chefs will make salads, soups, hot entrées and side dishes fresh from scratch daily onsite in the PCC Kitchen.

PCC also partners with nearly 50 local food banks and nonprofits – including Kirkland Hopelink and Community Resource Network for more than 15 years through PCC’s Food Bank Program.