Leschi Market has been a part of the community for over 80 years. As it evolves, one thing remains true – it’s devoted ownership and employees, to the customers and the community. It continues to reach new heights with a dedication to service that is unparalleled.
What you see is the store today is a result of that service. The grocery aisles carry household brands and a wide variety of natural, organic and gourmet products. The meat and deli department continue creating house-made sausages, smoking turkeys and roasting organic chickens. It also creates new and regular culinary offerings for weeknight dinners, holidays and special occasions. The produce department proudly brings some of the freshest organic and conventional produce available, showcasing local growers and crops. With a keen eye for interesting and mainstay wine, beer and cider, Leschi Market brings unexpected items and choice selections. The store may look small, but its reputation for customer service is unparalleled, rooted in a fourth-generation, 80 year history.
Leschi Market is proud to be your neighborhood grocery store and a part of the Leschi community.
Early 1930s: Hank and Shirley Edelson open a small store at the corner of 22nd Ave and East Union in the Central District neighborhood of Seattle.
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1948: The store moves to its current location along the shores of Lake Washington, establishing itself as a part of the Leschi community.
1962: Leonard Shulman comes to work for Hank (his uncle-in-law) and Hank’s son, Danny. The store is Leonard’s side job as he continues his main employment as a telegrapher for Great Northern Railroad.
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1967: As Leschi grows, so does its neighborhood grocery store. The store is remodeled and, in the process, doubles its original footprint. Leonard devotes himself to the store as the full-time store manager.
1977: Leonard, his wife Betty Lou, and their son, John, purchase the store from Danny, continuing the Leschi Market legacy under the Shulman name.
Mid 1980s: Leonard’s oldest son, Steve, comes to work at the family business as the butcher, growing the meat department and establishing its house-made sausage program.
1996: Steve’s insightfulness leads to the expansion of the wine department, dedicated to lesser-known wines at unbeatable prices.
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1998: Steve’s nephew, Yousef, begins to work at the store and shortly thereafter leads the operations of the meat department.
2002: Steve takes over day-to-day operations and ownership of the store, ushering the store even further into the Leschi community. His panache for customer service and community dedication positions him as a pillar in the community, not just in the Leschi neighborhood, but also in the larger city of Seattle. His community support through the store is seen in countless ways, from committed donations to spotlighting the neighborhood through personal and professional connections.
2007: Kenneth Benner is hired to take over the wine department and meticulously grow it into a regional resource for wine enthusiasts.
2015: Paul Wilcox is hired by Steve as store manager, bringing decades of customer-focused retail experience to running the operations of Leschi Market.
2017: Leschi Market establishes its own retail wine labels: Shulman Estate, Leschi Cellars, and T-Dock Wines. It grows into 15+ labels in 5 years and continues to expand. The brand consistently adds new varietals for a growing number of new and loyal wine enthusiasts.
2018: Leonard remains involved and dedicated to the store. What began as a side job turned into a family business that Leonard was a part of until his passing at age 86.
2020: After a life dedicated to the store and the community, Steve passes away as one of the first in Seattle to succumb to COVID-19. His commitments to the people and the community of Leschi and Seattle become his legacy.
Yousef, Paul and Ken took the reins of running Leschi Market during an unprecedented time of change and uncertainty, as a global pandemic pushed its way across the globe. They leaned into the values that Leonard and Steve Shulman taught them, and the culture that they have continued to cultivate at the store — dedication to staff, embracing your community, and upholding a legacy of customer service. While the pandemic brought uncertainty in an industry that was chaotic, the pandemic also showcased the community giving back in unseen sincerity and support.
Yousef Shulman
As fourth-generation owner of Leschi Market, the grocery business runs deep for Yousef.
Learning through life, and being mentored by his grandfather and uncle, Yousef grew up at Leschi Market by accompanying them to the store. His commitment to his family and the store is mirrored in his dedication to the Leschi community, something that was engrained in him from the time he started working at the store at the age of 13. The day after his bar mitzvah his grandfather, Leonard, stated “per Jewish tradition, you are now a man, it’s time to go to work.” His family was grooming him to one day take over and lead the business for the next generation.
The importance of learning all aspects of the business was instilled into Yousef from day one. He understands that no job is too small, and that every job is essential to the store’s success. He won’t ask his staff to do anything that he hasn’t done in his years at the store, and he can often be found doing everything from sweeping the floor and doing dishes to balancing the financials, catching up with customers and curating product.
While both his grandfather and uncle have passed, leaving a legacy of their own at the store, they continue to inspire Yousef every day. Whether it is how he runs the store, manages employees, or in his dedication and philosophy of giving back to the community, the Shulman legacy is alive and thriving. The Shulman work ethic, personal sacrifices, and importance of customer service created a distinct Leschi Market culture, and one that Yousef is proud to continue to this day. Yousef credits his staff with upholding the stores tradition of customer service, something that continues to set the store apart from others. In fact, while many customers that shop at the store are friends, Yousef considers many of them family, along with his staff and business partners.
Yousef also believes in balance, and that means working hard, but never missing the important moments, such as the emphasis he places on family and friends, his dedication to the Jewish community and his love for his two Golden Retrievers. He also has an affinity for travelling, music, and is an avid fan and attendee of Seattle’s professional sports teams. Yousef is recently engaged and looks forward to introducing his new fiancé (and New York transplant) to the Leschi community.
Paul Wilcox
Paul brings the prowess of the grocery business achieved through many years of dedication, experience, and ownership. Before graduating Washington State University, Paul originally walked through the doors of Safeway for his first grocer job as a teenager. He was mesmerized by the business and naturally, effortlessly walked the floors talking with customers – the part of his job that he feels most comfortable and confident to this day. His calling grew into leadership roles at Safeway, Larry’s Markets, and Unified Grocers, before ownership of a specialty food market and eventually to Leschi Market.
Born for the grocery business, Paul takes pride in everything he does, and his experience makes him lightning accurate at financial forecasting and deftly acute at inventory management, product selection, concept innovation and brand management. Guiding the store since 2015, his knack for merchandise selection continues to broaden the store’s scope for unique and outstanding product availability.
With a keen eye for hiring staff, Paul’s hands-on, people-first management style has created a tightknit team of professional grocers, eager to work, dedicated to customer service, and committed to personal and professional growth. Creating a unique and dynamic work environment, Paul’s leadership relies on his ability to create, teach, coach, and inspire, an area that he is particularly proud of in his nearly 40-year grocery career. Paul’s best lesson learned and advice he passes on: “Place yourself on the receiving end of your own conversation.”
Paul has guided his career in staying true to his beliefs – honesty, humility, openness, and integrity. Having worked for some of the area’s largest grocery groups, Paul’s work ethic and hiring practices underscore the legendary customer service at Leschi Market.
Paul’s enviable work ethic is echoed in his personal life as a triathlete competing in various running, cycling, and swimming competitions up and down the West Coast and beyond; waking early to push himself daily. Married for over 20 years and travelling for fun and for competitions, Paul also spends time with his dogs, cats, and thoroughly enjoys his annual trip to Kona, Hawaii.
Ken Benner
Ken is the epitome of value in diversity, led by a path that has most certainly directed him to Leschi Market, where he started in 2007. With experience in retail, the culinary arts, and a palate that rivals some of the best, it is Ken’s dedication and loyalty that brought him to ownership at Leschi Market.
Ken’s diverse skill set initially landed him in the wine department at Leschi Market while enrolled in culinary school and working alongside chefs in some of Seattle’s best restaurants. With a little nudge from the dean of his culinary school (where he aced his wine class), Ken layered in his degree from the University of Washington with years of experience working with chefs to design custom ice cream flavors.
A unique panache for tasting, Ken moved to manager of the wine department, growing its sales exponentially over the years, expanding the department and eventually spearheading the store’s Leschi Cellars, a growing collection of 15 wines. His love of wine rests on the fact that his thirst for knowledge is never satiated. That is echoed in the grocery business – there is something new every day. The store’s culture that has been cultivated over the last several decades has become even stronger in recent years – a dynamic work family for everyone involved.
Ken credits Steve Shulman with taking him under his wing to introduce the grocery business, but more importantly to the sense of community, the institution of the store, and its legacy of customer service that makes Leschi Market a true neighborhood gem.
Ken’s family keeps him busy, namely his two adoring kids, whether coaching their teams, passing on his love for Pearl Jam, teaching them how to fish, hiking with his Rhodesian Ridgebacks, or traveling to Hawaii on family vacation. Ken also enjoys all things baseball, from talking baseball, watching baseball, cheering on the Seattle Mariners or playing first base for his men’s league. If he wasn’t at Leschi Market, you’d find him operating a food truck and living an idyllic life with his family on a Ridgeback ranch on Maui.
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