"We can't envision what Lynwood Center would look like if Walt's wasn't there." Tyler Hannon said that to the Bainbridge Island Review this month. He was explaining why he and his wife, Alexandra, decided to buy his father's grocery store.
Walt Hannon has owned Walt's Lynwood Market since 1992. He is now handing it to the next generation. The Hannons told the Review they expect the transfer to be final within the next few months, followed by updates and a grand reopening under the new owners next spring.
The handover was set up to protect the south end corner grocery's name and its role in the neighborhood, and the most important term is a promise to keep it Walt's.
Nearly Fifty Years Behind One Counter
Walt's history with the store goes back further than the name over the door. The Review reports he started working there as a high school student in 1977. He spent 15 years as an employee under the previous owner and then bought it. If you count both stretches, he has been part of the market for 49 years, and owned it for 34 of them.
The site itself is older still. Lynwood Center was founded in the 1930s by south end residents Edne and Emanuel Olson. According to the Review, there has been a market at that historic spot since the 1950s, if not earlier. The store has changed names several times since it first opened nearly a century ago.
The Promise That Kept the Name
Selling within the family was not the original plan. Tyler told the Review that his father first thought about selling to an outside buyer. Tyler stepped in with an offer built around a single condition:
"I was like, 'Dad, any other buyer that's gonna come in is gonna change the name, but if you sell the store to me, I contractually will commit to keeping it Walt's as long as I live.'"
So a written promise ties Walt's name to the corner for as long as Tyler is alive. Most small-business handovers center on a price and a closing date. This one gave the most weight to the sign.
Tyler also explained what the store meant to him growing up. "Growing up, it was me and my brother running down the aisles, cleaning the floors," he told the Review. "It taught me how to steward something and how to work hard." He and Alexandra have three young children. Tyler said one reason they took over was so the kids could grow up around a business that creates jobs "for high schoolers all the way up to retirees."
That range of jobs matters. Walt himself began as a high school employee here, so Tyler is describing a hiring pattern the store has followed for half a century.
What Stays, and What Gets a Refresh
Tyler described his plan to the Review as keeping the status quo while giving the store a "refresh." Here is how the reported plans break down.
Staying put | Planned or under consideration |
|---|---|
The Walt's name, under contract | A new point-of-sale system |
Pinball machines and arcade games, in the store since the early 1990s | Better discounts |
The store's role as a full-service neighborhood grocery | Possibly a larger deli and hot food section |
The family running it | Possibly a seasonal section |
Supplies from Bainbridge Island farms |
The arcade games are what stand out most. Tyler called them part of the "quirky aspect that makes it fun for kids and families to go in and get that staple that they need at that right time." No new owner bothers to keep 30-year-old pinball machines unless they understand what the store means to people.
Buying from island farms might change daily shopping more than anything else on the list. "We're going to establish some relationships with some of the local farms here on the island, so that we can source truly local," Tyler told the Review. The store's website already lists organic groceries, fresh produce, fine meats and cheeses, deli and prepared foods, everyday groceries, and craft beer and wine. Produce from island farms would fit into that lineup without changing what the store is.
For Now, Business as Usual
The handover is still in progress. The Review reported that the transfer should be final within a few months and the reopening should come in the spring. Walt's website announces the same plans: Tyler and Alexandra are taking over, with a grand reopening next spring. Neither source says the store will close in the meantime.
The website lists these hours this fall:
- Sunday through Thursday: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Walt gave the Review a simple reason for stepping back. "It's just time," he said. "It needs some fresh energy to take it to the next level, and Tyler and Alexandra will definitely do that." He also credited his wife, Jan, who spent 47 years at American Marine Bank, now Columbia Bank, and handled the store's bookkeeping. "I couldn't have done (the bookwork) without her," he said.
A Path Toward the Same Corner
Something else is planned for Lynwood Center that points the same way as the handover. The City of Bainbridge Island is designing the Lynwood Center Road Non-Motorized Improvements Project, which runs from Fletcher Bay Road to Baker Hill Road.
The city's request for qualifications, posted in July 2026, calls the route a critical link in the "Connecting Centers" Sustainable Transportation Plan. It says the road connects all south island neighborhoods with the Hyla School, the public middle and high school campuses, and the Winslow center. The design has not been chosen yet. The preferred ideas include a separated two-way path, crossing enhancements and traffic calming. The city wrote that the final concept "will influence and connect to the city's Lynwood Center area."
Put that next to the grocery news. The store's new owners plan to keep it a neighborhood hub, and the city is studying ways to make that hub easier to reach on foot or by bike.
The project will take years. The early design work is paid for by a federal grant plus local matching funds. Here are the targets the city published in July 2026:
- End of 2026: choose a design alternative
- Early 2027: finish 100% of the design
- December 2027: finish the final plans, specifications and cost estimates
- Early 2028: award the construction bid
- October to November 2028: finish construction
These dates are projections from the July posting. The consultant's job includes helping the city with community engagement and public meetings. Anyone who wants a say in how the path meets the Lynwood crossroads should keep an eye on the city's project notices over the winter.
Spring at the Crossroads
If the timelines hold, here is how Lynwood Center changes between now and November 2028. Walt's reopens in the spring under Tyler and Alexandra, with the same name, the same pinball machines, and possibly a bigger deli and produce from island farms. Meanwhile the city works on the path design that could connect the corner to the rest of the south end without a car.
"This community – the south end of Bainbridge – is pretty special," Walt told the Review. After 49 years in the store, he is leaving it to a son who has pledged to keep the store Walt's as long as he lives.
If you love the south end for places like Walt's and want to talk about finding a home near the Lynwood Center crossroads, Claudia Powers would be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
