Metsker Maps plans move to Pike Place Market
The 55-year-old store, which first opened in 1948 on Third Avenue, has been at First Avenue and Cherry Street since the early 1980s. But come January, Metsker will move into two adjoining retail spaces under the "Sanitary Market" sign at 1511 and 1513 First Ave.
With its Pioneer Square lease expiring at the end of the year, the privately owned store decided to explore its options in a favorable renter's market, part-owner Jay Brown said.The new store will be about the same size as the current one. But the Market, one of Seattle's premier public spaces and tourist hubs, offers a high-traffic location and an eclectic mix of fellow independent retailers, Brown said.
"The Pike Place Market has a great history and tradition of serving Seattle with specialty shops, and Metsker fits right into that," Brown said.
While Metsker has a steady following, Brown said the store has seen business slip over the past two years, with fewer people traveling since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Monthly sales have been down 8 to 10 percent.
With increased competition from bookstore chains and the Internet, the specialty map store "is kind of a dying breed," Brown said.
"This is a nice chance to really reinvigorate our business," he said.
Andrew Krueger, spokesman for the Market's Preservation and Development Authority, said Metsker is "a Seattle retail landmark" that fits into the Market's mission to provide an environment where local, independent retailers can thrive. The store's departure from Pioneer Square "is a blow to the neighborhood," said Benjamin Nicholls, program manager for the Pioneer Square Community Association.
"We play this game of trading businesses with the Market, where some of their businesses come down here, and some of our businesses go up there," Nicholls said. "We're committed to recruiting new businesses and filling spaces, but we will be sad to see them go."
Pioneer Square, bedeviled by vacancies over the past few years, has a budding restaurant district on the neighborhood's north end near Metsker, Nicholls said.
Metsker, which signed a 10-year lease for the Pike Place Market space, won't be able to hang its trademark neon sign outside the new store.
The sign is too big under rules set by the Market's historical commission.
Part-owner Skip Ross said Metsker will try to find space for the sign inside the new store.
Jake Batsell: 206-464-2718 or jbatsell@seattletimes.com
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