The site itself has transformed from the banks of Elliott Bay, to industrial, retail, hospitality, automotive and parking, and now has the opportunity to transform back into an active part of the community. The Moriguchi family has been a part of the NW area for nearly a century; their history is now intertwined with the neighborhood.

Fujimatsu Moriguchi, emigrated at age 24 from Japan in 1923 to Hoquiam. He started in farming, moved to a restaurant, then switched to the Main Fish Company located on 6th Avenue in Seattle Japan Town. In 1928, in Tacoma, he started, Uwajima-ya, named after a fishing town near his birthplace in Japan. (Ya means store in Japanese.) Post- World War II, 1945, after being incarcerated in Tule Lake, Fujimatsu and his wife, relocated his family to Seattle. In 1946Uwajimaya was re-established across the street from this location, from there he grew the store into the community and regional staple, providing grocery service and employment for the community, that it is today.