Pike Place Market’s news man is leaving the biz after 40 years

You are at the mouth of the Pike Place Market, in downtown Seattle, facing the water. The bronze pig is within a stone’s throw.

Look left, and there’s First and Pike News, a 350-square-foot newsstand filled with light and magazines from around the world. Cote Ouest. Der Spiegel. Covey Rise (for upland lifestyle). When the wind blows down Pike Street, it’s the coldest place in the neighborhood.

In business for 40 years, this newsstand will close on Dec. 31. Lee Laukhart, the owner, said business was drying up.

“Prior to the digital attack, in America and the world, it was something people wanted, the news, what’s happening,” Laukhart said.

“That thing people carry in the palm of their hand — it’s entertainment. You look out, everyone’s doing it. So why buy a magazine or a newspaper?

“It didn’t just happen. It’s been going on for a long time.”

Laukhart remembers when people would rush to his stall for breaking news: When the towers fell on September 11, 2001; when Mount Saint Helens erupted; when President Richard Nixon resigned — okay, he wasn’t open then, but one could imagine. These were news events that merited extra editions.

Laukhart opened the news stand with a partner and later added a third partner. One of those partners died; the third left at the 20-year mark.

“I’ve been 20 years by myself,” Laukhart said.

Laukhart was an early supporter of the $15 minimum wage, even if it meant he didn’t make an income himself.

“The last 10 or 12 years, I haven’t taken any money out of the business,” he continued. “I don’t pay myself.”

On the Friday afternoon that we visited Laukhart, the market was loud with protesters angrily singing “Jingle Bells.” Laukhart, wearing a wool cap and a red down vest, didn’t seem to notice.

He called the newsstand a labor of love. And then it became a hobby that he had to fund. That just couldn’t pencil out anymore, he said. Was the higher minimum wage a reason he couldn’t make it?

“Maybe a little bit,” he said, “but I know what it takes for people to live in Seattle, for god’s sake. I don’t want to go the other way, I’d rather be a supporter.”

He is also why the market is open on Sundays. Sundays are big newspaper days, with ads and big features, so he kept the newsstand open.