Longtime residents of Anderson Island in Pierce County cycled through the community’s only gas station and general store on Monday. The shelves were bare, and the deli was quiet. After nearly 50 years in operation, the shop closed Tuesday when dwindling revenues couldn’t offset the cost of operation.
Without a gas station, cafe, hardware store, deli, post office or place to buy fresh produce on the eight-mile island, 1,500 full-time residents will have to take the ferry to Steilacoom. The store’s loss is expected to be felt more acutely in the summer months when the island’s population swells to more than 5,000.
As previously reported by The News Tribune, the island has seen a 64% increase in population growth since 2015, and the rate of new home construction has ballooned since 2020. Residents say the existing ferry schedule isn’t keeping up with demand and tickets are pricey.
Barbara Lake, the owner of the Anderson Island General Store, told The News Tribune on Monday that her margins were small. Over the decades, Lake said the store weathered challenging economic times, including the housing market crash of 2008, the COVID-19 pandemic and when the island lost power for several months, forcing islanders to live off generators. More residents have come to rely on Amazon and other delivery services, and with fewer sales in recent years and the cost of goods going up, her small business couldn’t make it, she said…