To say I was excited about Laconia Market opening in Snoqualmie Pass near the Summit at Snoqualmie is an understatement. We drove past the old firehouse that it’s housed in nearly every weekend as it was renovated to watch it become the beautiful space it is now. We’ve been part-time in the mountains for nearly 7 or 8 years now and it’s amazing how much has been developed there over these years. I remember when the Commonwealth cafe first opened in Snoqualmie Pass too and when we first started finding all the places here that have become such a big part of our lives. Before Laconia Market opened the closest place to get groceries and fresh produce was probably North Bend and in the wintertime when the snow makes the roads a bit treacherous, it’s not easy to get things we need if we forget to bring them from the city.
So now you can get avocados in Snoqualmie Pass
(I think you can anyways.) Laconia Market isn’t a huge store but it isn’t small either and I’m surprised at all the things they can fit on the shelves-they have everything from pantry items to produce. We tend to buy hamburger and hotdog buns, milk, and treats at the store and I think we’ve been there every week since it first opened a couple months ago. I was surprised that once when I needed tomatoes, the organic tomatoes here were cheaper than the ones I had seen earlier that week at my local grocery store in the city. We’ve also picked up interesting cider, gluten free crackers, salads and delicious iced tea. And we’ve had coffees with really pretty coffee art too.
And how about the ramen at Laconia Market?
I need to try this because I’ve heard on good authority that it’s delicious! I keep missing the open hours for the food kitchen or we’ve already eaten when we visit so I’ve never tried the ramen at Laconia Market yet. They also have rice and curry bowls that sound really good too. We tried the windy pass tofu sandwich and it was very tasty. And it is so nice to be able to get fresh pastries on weekend mornings before going out to do ski runs. I think if we were coming up to ski for the day, this is a place I would stop for apres especially if it’s sunny because the picnic tables here have spectacular views and I’ve seen pictures of their tots and charcuterie plates.
And if you want a side of adventure with your yummy food?
There is an Evo Store attached to Laconia Market in the firehouse space. This store has some cool clothing items that I keep popping by to check out. They also have gear to rent if you want to do an outdoor adventure like snowshoeing or skiing. It sounds like they will even have bike rentals in the summer and while many of us know Snoqualmie Pass for its skiing and winter sports, Snoqualmie Pass is such a great place for mountain biking too. (Also more mountain biking trails are coming to the pass this summer too!).
Even just having this space open in the last part of a winter season in hopefully the last part of a pandemic has been such a relief and joy in our mountain backyard. Having resources like rentals and more food options allows more people access to outdoor adventures and Laconia Market has done this in such a beautiful and thoughtful way I’m looking forward to see how they grow.
(PS. sometimes I write for other publications. If you want to read more of my gushing about Snoqualmie Pass and Laconia Market in Seattle’s Child I’ve included the link here as well.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)