Qfc, Alfalfa's Consider Buying Wallingford Food Giant Store

The bright neon sign in front of the Wallingford Food Giant may soon bear new letters.

At least two grocery chains - Alfalfa's and QFC - have expressed interest in acquiring the Wallingford store and perhaps three other Food Giant stores in Seattle.

The move comes amid growing consolidation in the grocery industry, but interest in the historic Seattle grocer appears to be linked to the attractiveness of the company's Wallingford location, at 1801 N. 46th St.

Geza DeGall, Alfalfa's Northwest regional manager, confirmed that he has talked with Food Giant about acquiring the company's flagship store. Alfalfa's, based in Boulder, Colo., is a growing chain of upscale natural and gourmet grocery stores with one Seattle location on Sand Point Way. Last month, Alfalfa's merged with another natural-food chain, Wild Oates Markets, giving the combined chain 38 stores in North America.

"The site would be an ideal footprint for us, both in terms of its location in Wallingford and its parking," DeGall said, noting that the site is one of only a handful in Wallingford with parking.

Seattle-based Vitamilk Dairy is majority owner of Food Giant. Company officials did not return calls. The grocery chain has not indicated publicly that it is interested in selling the Wallingford store or its other stores, on Aurora Avenue North, Ballinger Way Northeast and Delridge Way Southwest in Seattle.

Sharon McCann, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers union Local 1105, which represents about 120 Food Giant employees, said that she has not received verification from the company that the store is for sale.

Despite Alfalfa's interest, QFC may be in a better position to buy the store, analysts said.

QFC officials did not return calls.

QFC, which operates 61 stores in the Puget Sound area, may have the advantage because Vitamilk has been been a major supplier to the Bellevue-based grocery-store chain.

One concern for QFC may be the size of the Wallingford store. QFC stores average 30,000 square feet, and its newest store, in University Village, is nearly 70,000 square feet. The Food Giant is only 18,000 square feet.

Diane Daggatt, a retail analyst with Dain Bosworth, said that might not matter. QFC operates a relatively large store on Roosevelt Avenue near the Wallingford site. Daggatt noted that QFC operates a small, 20,000-square-foot store in Bellevue in the shadow of a significantly larger one and that the Wallingford situation could be similar.

Analysts said the site would be ideal for either Alfalfa's or QFC, both of which operate upscale stores that would fit in well in Wallingford.

Alfalfa's is hoping to use the Wallingford site as a springboard for expansion.

The Wallingford Food Giant would be just the right size for the company. Its Sand Point store is about about 16,000 square feet, DeGall said.

"We're looking at Seattle and the Eastside," DeGall said, adding that the chain would like to have four to five stores in the region within five years.