Shelf Life Community Story Project
Amplifying community voices, learning from neighborhood stories, and interrupting narratives of erasure in Seattle's Central District.
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Grocery Store Music

Photo by Inye Wokoma

Photo by Inye Wokoma

Michael Moss has managed the Red Apple since 1996. He is also an ordained Baptist minister.

Mike Moss

We’ve actually been written up twice in the newspaper for having the best music in a grocery store. It’s a crazy story. Probably in like ’97 or ’98, I was working at the store, and I found a station that’s got a nice mixture, and I did something most grocery stores will never let you do. I turned it up. And so, the owner, who was born and raised on 19th and Yesler, came in and he’s like, “What are you doing? The music’s too loud!”And then he started seeing the customers dancing in the aisles, and then he said, “Well, as long as nobody gets offended you can continue to play the music a little louder.” And so we’ve been fortunate to be able to play it at a level that people come in and they actually get a nice little groove. It’s been good. It’s kind of our niche. People come in, “I love the music in your store!”