The discount grocery chain has submitted several permit filings over the last few weeks indicating renewed efforts to open a store at 13550 Aurora Ave. N. in North Seattle, the site of a former Sam’s Club location left vacant since 2018. Recently filed construction permits show plans for major interior renovation and a reduction in the building’s square footage.

A WinCo spokesperson told the Puget Sound Business Journal that it plans to open the store within a year. “We’ve put out the word, seen what people think and we’ve done it many times in (the Seattle area),” the spokesperson told the publication. “The shoppers there seem to be really hungry for WinCo and we’re really hungry to give it to them.”

That’s a relief for some who thought WinCo might abandon efforts after legal setbacks earlier this year, when a hearing examiner overturned the city’s determination that the project would have no significant environmental impacts.

The decision came in response to an appeal by Lake Washington Working Families, a group who argued that the neighborhood would be harmed by the WinCo.

Lake Washington Working Families claims to be “a coalition of King County residents, working families, environmental advocates, labor unions, and local merchants united in opposition to unchecked urban sprawl and overdevelopment.” But it has no website, is not registered with the state and has only made public appearances to challenge two WinCos, leading to much online speculation about who exactly is behind the group.