Ken’s Markets and Marketime Foods

Seattle is a old city, with a name inherited from a people who inhabited the area as many as four thousand years ago. And such an old city comes with many stories, and one of those stories is the story of the Giles, and specifically one of the Giles’ patriarchs, Ken.

Ken Giles is a Seattle son—he grew up in the neighborhoods of Greenwood and Phinney Ridge, he attended UW and rowed on the crew team, he went abroad as a member of the US Navy, and then he returned to the Greenwood and Phinney Ridge area to continue the pursuit of an enduring passion.

At the age of thirteen, Ken Giles began working in his uncle’s grocery, Erikson’s Market, on Greenwood. And in 1955, Ken Giles purchased his first grocery, a local location of the Independent Grocers Alliance, and he renamed the business Ken Giles IGA. Sixty-three years later, Ken Giles IGA is Ken’s Market, there is a second Ken’s Market in Queen Anne, and the Giles clan also owns and operates Marketime Foods in Fremont.

Ken Giles’s passion for groceries grew with his family, and the Giles still run their groceries, along with modern convenience, with the same passion for quality and selection and serving their communities.

Ken’s Markets and Marketime Foods put a premium on quality and sourcing locally as much as possible. Ken’s and Marketime work with local farmers, especially in the summer months, to bring in local produce, and they work year-round to supply meats that come from stock that is sustainably and humanly raised without the use of growth hormones or antibiotics—from local and northwest suppliers such as Painted Hills Natural Beef, Draper Valley Farms, and Jack Mountain Meats.

Ken’s Markets and Marketime Foods also strive to provide the freshest seafood when in season and, out of season, the freshest tasting wild-caught previously frozen seafood.

Ken’s Markets and Marketime Foods continue their commitment to supporting their communities and other local businesses in their bakery departments. Many local bakeries deliver their goods to Ken’s and Marketime fresh daily. Examples include breads from the Essential Baking Company, bagels from Bagel Oasis, and pastries from Little Rae’s.

And if you need just one more piece of evidence that Ken’s Markets and Marketime Foods are all in on coexisting and prospering with other local businesses and their communities, you will find in their café and deli offerings from none other than our very own Seven Coffee Roasters! You will also find whole beans from Seven Coffee Roasters on Ken’s and Marketime’s coffee aisles that you can grind fresh and take home to brew in your own coffee pot.

Ken’s Markets and Marketime’s cafés and delis also offer many fresh options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, either to enjoy immediately or to take with you and enjoy at your convenience. Ken’s and Marketime offer soups, sandwiches, and options for ready-to-eat meals—even pizza!—all made in-house. One particularly enticing item is Ken’s Own Northwest Cioppino, an Italian-inspired seafood stew originating from San Francisco and packed with every type of seafood you can imagine.

Lastly, let’s not forget Ken’s Markets and Marketime Foods offer everything you could want in beer, wine, and spirits, including many, many local libations. Whether you’re looking for a Washington Cabernet Sauvignon or a French Rosé, a six-pack of Fremont IPA or a four-pack of Köstritzer schwarzbier, you’ll find it at Ken’s Markets or Marketime Foods.

Seattleites love stories, and we love our communities. And Ken’s Markets and Marketime Foods offer both a storied past and a community-minded present. Not to mention, they serve really good coffee.