PORT TOWNSEND — Heads turned with excitement and anticipation all week.
Curious pedestrians and braking motorists peeked through the store entrance as Aldrich’s Market employees stocked merchandise and construction workers put finishing touches on the ground floor.
Two years after the original 114-year-old wooden building burned down in a devastating early morning blaze on Aug. 4, 2003, Aldrich’s Market is opening its new doors at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, re-establishing itself as an uptown landmark.
A new grocery store is scheduled to remain open until 10 p.m. daily.
“We are really happy to have the grocery back,” said Cindy Swanson, a resident of a building across from Aldrich’s.
“I have to be careful about my late-night ice cream runs now.”
The Aldrich’s diet
The market’s owners use a reconstruction-period term for uptown residents deprived of their late-night snacks.
“People in the uptown have been on the Aldrich’s diet during these two years,” jokes co-owner Jonathan Ryweck.
“We hope that people don’t gain weight after we open.”
Ryweck’s partner, David Hamilton, purchased the business in 1996 and both became building owners in 2002 after Ryweck became a partner.
A year later, the early morning fire engulfed the hub of the Lawrence Street business district and destroyed it.
Burning embers left in a newspaper recycling bin caused the blaze, investigators concluded.
Last November, both owners persuaded Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Juelie Dalzell to drop felony charges against two of the three teenagers responsible for the fire.
At the time, Hamilton and Ryweck were already in the middle of bringing their $3.7 million project to completion.
Energized by community support, Hamilton and Ryweck decided to rebuild the market as close to the original as possible, and reconstruction is nearing its final days.
The new grocery store will feature a similar product selection available before the fire, as well as expanded wine and deli departments.
The born-again market will also feature a coffee bar, mezzanine dining area, art supply store and sushi restaurant.
