Pike Place Market Seattle Wa

Pike Place Market: The Point Is Not the Coffee Chain

Pike Place Market opened in 1907 on a bluff above Elliott Bay. It is a public farmers market, not a shopping centre. The distinction matters because the most famous entity at the market – the Starbucks at 1912 Pike Place, marketed as the “original” location – is actually not the original location (which was at 2000 Western Avenue), opened in 1971, and sells exactly the same coffee as every other Starbucks. The queue for it is frequently 20 to 30 minutes. You can make a reasonable case that queueing for it is the most tourist-focused thing you can do in Seattle while missing one of the better food markets in the United States.

The market covers several levels stepping down the hillside to the water, contains around 225 permanent commercial businesses, 190 craftspeople, and over 100 farmers. It operates daily, most stalls from 9am to 6pm, year-round. The lower levels beneath the main arcade – the Downunder floors – hold antique dealers, specialty booksellers, and small artisan workshops that most visitors never find because they’re not visible from the main walkway. These are the floors where the market’s older character is best preserved: low ceilings, rough concrete, stalls that have been in the same spot since the 1970s.

The Fish

Pike Place Fish Co. throws whole salmon. They have been doing it since the 1980s as a crowd management and morale technique that became a tourist attraction. Throws happen when a purchase is made and the vendor needs to relay it to a colleague. Stand near the stall and wait 15 minutes and you will probably see one.

The fish itself is genuinely good: Dungeness crab, Pacific oysters, salmon, halibut, and Alaskan King crab in season. Buying fish packed with dry ice for travel is a legitimate option if you are flying out of Seattle that day.

What to Eat

Pike Place Chowder, on Pike Street just east of the market, serves New England clam chowder in a bread bowl for around $12. It has won national competitions and the reputation is not marketing. Go before noon or after 2pm to manage the wait.

Piroshky Piroshky on Pike Place has been baking Russian filled pastries since 1992. The potato-and-cheese piroshky and the smoked salmon cream cheese version are both reliably good, both around $5 to 6, and both hot from the oven. The queue moves.

Beecher’s Handmade Cheese at the main arcade entrance makes cheese in visible vats behind the counter. The macaroni and cheese from the shop window, using the Flagship Blend, costs around $5 and is consistently one of the better things you can eat while standing on Pike Place.

The produce stalls sell year-round Washington State apples, Yakima Valley stone fruit in summer, and local salmon and shellfish. Buying seasonal fruit to eat while walking through the market is the correct breakfast choice.

Rachel the Pig

Rachel is a 550-pound bronze piggy bank cast by Seattle artist Georgia Gerber in 1986, positioned at the main market entrance. She collects around $10,000 per year in dropped coins, which goes to the Market Foundation for social services to the approximately 400 people who live in the residential units above the stalls. The combination of public art, functional coin collection, and genuinely affordable housing in the middle of a tourist attraction is specifically Seattle in a way that is hard to replicate elsewhere.

Getting There

The market is at the western edge of downtown Seattle, about 12 minutes’ walk from the central business district. From Pioneer Square or the waterfront, a 10 to 15 minute walk north on First Avenue. The hillclimb stairs from the waterfront piers are steep but direct. Driving and parking is expensive; the garage under the market fills quickly on weekends. The Seattle Center Streetcar stops at Westlake, then walk down Pike Street.

The Inn at the Market on First Avenue is positioned directly above the market with rooms overlooking Elliott Bay (rates from $250 to 400 per night). Three blocks south, the Alexis Royal Sonesta is a more affordable boutique option.