Homegrown is preparing to close its final two sandwich shops, shuttering its downtown Seattle and Mercer Island locations and ending a 17-year run as a Seattle fast-casual chain. The company is also ending its catering services, which it had once planned to lean on as its stores business shrank.
According to Puget Sound Business Journal, Homegrown is “preparing to shutter its final two stores,” a move that will also end catering services the chain had offered for years. The downtown shop sits at 999 Third Avenue in Seattle, while the Mercer Island location is at 3016 78th Avenue SE. A search-result snippet referencing the same report indicates the downtown store may serve its final customers around Nov. 25, though that specific date carries lower confidence in the available reporting.
The closures cap a long slide for a chain that co-founders Brad Gillis and Ben Friedman launched in Fremont in 2009, as The Seattle Times has reported. Homegrown grew into a recognizable name across the Seattle area before financial pressure began forcing hard decisions.
A Painful Retreat Began in 2024
In July 2024, Homegrown closed 10 sandwich shops across King County, including locations in Capitol Hill, Kirkland, Queen Anne, Redmond, South Lake Union, Southcenter, and U-Village, laying off 158 employees as a result. The Seattle Times reported at the time that the company would keep only its downtown Seattle restaurant and its Mercer Island location running, with a state layoff notification indicating the affected stores would close that September.
Gillis, who serves as Homegrown's CEO and co-founder, said at the time that rising food and labor costs had created an unsustainable model for the company. Speaking to KUOW, he said the reasons for the closures included rising food and labor costs, and that the decision to close stores was difficult but necessary. Gillis added that trimming down would let the company focus on its two highest-performing locations and its catering business, saying Homegrown would continue its mission through those two remaining stores.
The cuts weren't without pushback. Union member Sydney Lankford told KUOW that the union representing affected workers was seeking severance pay for all 158 laid-off employees, along with access to the company's books.
A Temporary Closure That Became Permanent
The downtown and Mercer Island shops temporarily closed in late 2025, catching customers off guard. A Puget Sound Business Journal report from that November quoted a customer service representative who said the shutdown was temporary “as far as we know.” Homegrown reopened both shops roughly two weeks later.
That reprieve now appears to have run its course. Per Homegrown's own closure notice posted in the shop window, as reported by Puget Sound Business Journal, the sign read: “Come see us during our last 30 days of business. Thanks for the support all these years, Seattle.”
As MyNorthwest reports, the company's financial troubles have included unpaid taxes and penalties in 2025 totaling more than $472,000 across two instances, and the Washington Department of Revenue revoked Homegrown's business license that year. Those details, paired with the earlier layoffs and the temporary shutdown, trace a company that had been straining against its costs for well over a year before this final closure announcement.
For now, both the downtown Seattle and Mercer Island locations remain open, giving longtime customers a window to stop in before the chain that started as a single Fremont shop in 2009 closes its doors for good.
