Beloved produce market in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood closes after fire. ‘We will be back’

Residents are mourning the closure of another Seattle neighborhood produce market. Rising Sun Produce, on the corner of 15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 65th Street, is boarded up. The smell of smoke and soot linger. Burnt boxes and other cardboard debris line the loading area.

At around 3:10 a.m. Friday, Seattle Fire Department received 911 calls reporting fire in the building. According to department spokesperson David Cuerpo, crews extinguished a fire involving stacked cardboard that extended to the loading dock and overhead roof. Cuerpo said investigators ruled the cause of the fire as undetermined.

It’s not clear how long the store will stay closed. A sign by the parking lot reads “We will be back.”

RELATED: MacPherson's, longtime Seattle produce market, is closing

Roosevelt residents are hopeful Rising Sun’s closure is temporary. The board has been turned into a message center to father-and-son owners Bud and Virgil Goodwin, offering notes of support and encouragement.

Rising Sun opened 1979, in a rented parking lot across the street from its current location. The produce may not always look perfect, but the low prices were a draw.

The loss of Rising Sun is another setback for Seattle's local produce markets that are facing major upheavals. In October, MacPherson’s Fruit and Produce on Beacon Hill closed after three decades, citing rising costs and the drop in foot traffic following Mercer Middle School’s demolition.