Bill Pace Opens Produce Market at Newport Hills Shopping Center

Bill Pace, the longtime grocer who runs the seasonal produce stand and U-pick at the Mercer Slough Blueberry Farm, opened the doors to Bill Pace Fresh Fruit and Produce in Newport Hills over the weekend.

The new, year-round produce market, at 5620 119th Ave. SE in Newport Hills, is the result of several years of planning for Pace, who has had decades of experience as a Bellevue-area grocer, selling produce from his farm in Yakima and other farms in Washington.

Pace Fresh Fruit and Produce offers the fruits and vegetables that Pace has trucked in, as well as convenience items, such as milk, bread and ice cream and Willamette Valley Fruit Company pies, said general manager Ray Pace. 

The new store also has been a long time coming for the community, which has been without a neighborhood grocery store since the Red Apple Market that was one of the anchors of the shopping center closed in 2009. Other businesses in the shopping center followed suit, with Newport Hills Drug closing shortly after the Red Apple shut down.

While several businesses have survived at Newport Hills Shopping Center for years -- Mustard Seed Grill and Pub, South China Perry Ko Restaurant-- many of the shopping center's storefronts are empty.

Recently, the shopping center saw the closure of the Bank of America and Cy's Hallmark.

So, Pace's store is some welcome life at the shopping center, for many neighbors. The produce store moved into the old pharmacy, which needed a lot of interior construction work, including brand new plumbing and other improvements that would make the space suitable for produce, Bill Pace said.

Pace said that officers from the Newport Hills Community Club had approached him several years ago about locating to the shopping center. At the same time, Pace also was looking for a place to relocate from the blueberry farm, because of the uncertainty about access while construction on East Link was occurring on Bellevue Way, he said.

Pace said that many of the customers at Mercer Slough Blueberry Farm said they plan to follow him to the year-round store at Newport Hills. Pace also hopes to continue to run the produce stand and U-pick at Mercer Slough, he said.

Do you plan to check out Bill Pace Fresh Fruit and Produce? What other types of businesses would you like to see in Newport Hills? Tell us in the comments.

Editor's note: The original version of this story incorrectly stated that a business was closed. It is open.