Walt's Is Staying Walt's: Lynwood Center Heads Into the Holidays With New Hands and Old Habits

"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." That is what Tyler Hannon told his father, according to the Bainbridge Island Review. Walt Hannon had first thought about selling Walt's Lynwood Market to someone outside the family.

Walt has owned the market for 34 years. He is now transferring it to Tyler and Tyler's wife, Alexandra. The family expects the transfer to finish within the next few months, with a grand reopening under the new owners planned for next spring. So this holiday season at Walt's falls right in the middle of the handoff.

The Walt's handoff follows a pattern at Lynwood Center. Its main institutions have changed hands many times over the decades, but each one has gone to someone who already had a stake in keeping it the way it was.

A market that has only changed hands from the inside

Walt didn't buy the store as an outsider. He started there as a high school student in 1977 and worked under the previous owner for 15 years before buying it in 1992. Tyler grew up there too. He told the Review that he and his brother used to run down the aisles and clean the floors.

The site's history goes back further than any one owner:

1. 1930s. South end residents in the Olson family establish Lynwood Center.
2. 1950s, if not earlier. A market is operating at the location, and the Review notes that its name has changed several times since.
3. 1977. Walt Hannon joins the staff as a high school student.
4. 1992. Walt buys the store, and it becomes Walt's.
5. October 2026. The transfer to Tyler and Alexandra Hannon is underway.
6. Next spring. A grand reopening is planned under the new owners.

Walt summed up his reason simply, according to the Review. "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 worked 47 years at American Marine Bank, now Columbia Bank, with handling the store's bookwork.

What the refresh changes, and what it leaves alone

Tyler wants to keep what works and modernize the rest. The plans he described to the Review are practical:

• A new point-of-sale system
• Better discounts
• Possibly an expanded deli and hot-food section, or a seasonal section
• Closer ties with Bainbridge Island farms, "so that we can source truly local," in his words

The Review describes the store as a full-service neighborhood grocery with organic groceries, fresh deli items, prepared foods and a large beer and wine selection. An expanded deli and hot-food counter would build on what the store already does well.

Along with the name, which Tyler has committed to in his contract, the pinball machines and arcade games that have been in the store since the early 1990s will stay. "There's always been that quirky aspect that makes it fun for kids and families to go in and get that staple that they need at that right time," he told the Review.

Fort Ward Hall changed hands the same way

The same kind of handoff happened a mile or two down the road in 2025. Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District owned Fort Ward Community Hall, previously owned by Kitsap County Sewer District #7, as of the park district's September 4, 2025 meeting. The Bainbridge Island Review reported that the sewer district would keep using its existing office space in the building. The building moved from one public body to another, and the previous owner stayed on as a tenant.

The park district describes the hall, at 9705 Evergreen Ave NE, as a restored 1910 bakery building. It is 910 square feet and holds up to 66 people. The hall hosts park district programs and can be reserved when no programs are running. For Bainbridge Island residents, rental rates are $41 an hour for the general public and $83 an hour for commercial use. Nonresidents pay $10 more per hour. There is also a $150 damage deposit and a $75 alcohol surcharge, according to the park district's rental page. For a south-end family planning a December gathering too big for the living room, that's a modest cost for a historic room close to home. The facility listing has the reservation contact.

Across the road, the newest tradition runs on tickets

Pleasant Beach Village is the youngest anchor in the area, and its holiday season works differently from everything else here. The Signature Gingerbread Decorating Experience at the Tudor-style Manor House, 4611 NE Woodson Lane, is ticketed, seated, and sold in advance. Tickets go on sale Friday, October 30.

A few details on the Manor House event page shape how you should book. Each kit ticket includes one reserved seat for the person decorating. Anyone who comes along without decorating needs their own seat ticket. Groups who want to sit together should buy all their tickets in one order, because separate orders aren't guaranteed adjacent seats. All sales are final, though the team says it will try to accommodate date changes if space allows. Each kit comes with pre-assembled gingerbread, house-made icing, candy from a candy bar, and free hot cocoa or cider. Holiday cocktails and seasonal snacks are sold separately.

Santa visits are free, need no reservation, and are open to everyone, whether or not you've booked a session. On November 27 and 28, Santa's hours run longer than the decorating sessions, so families can come for photos without a ticket. Parking is free.

A south-end December that stays on Lynwood Center Road

Most of a holiday weekend on the south end can happen without crossing to Winslow.

The Historic Lynwood Theatre at 4569 Lynwood Center Rd NE is run by Far Away Entertainment, which posts showtimes and special events on its theatre page. According to the island's visitor guide to Lynwood Center, the Olsons opened the one-screen theatre on July 3, 1936, and it was the island's first theatre with spoken sound. The guide also credits the Olson family with building the village's Tudor shopping center in the 1930s. The same family built the theatre and the Tudor storefronts, and the theatre reached 90 years this past July.

For a meal close by, Treehouse Café serves pizza, soups, salads and sandwiches as Lynwood Center's pub and pizzeria, with occasional live entertainment. At Pleasant Beach Village, The Marketplace is open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. with Greek-inspired food, Pegasus Coffee and Macrina baked goods, and Hammy's Burgers is also on site.

One possible order for a December Saturday: a morning gingerbread session at the Manor House, lunch at The Marketplace or Hammy's, a stop at Walt's for whatever the house is short on, and a late-afternoon show at the Lynwood Theatre. Walt Hannon is still the owner of record at Walt's for now. The point-of-sale system, the bigger deli and the farm partnerships come after the transfer, ahead of the grand reopening planned for next spring.

If you're thinking about what your own place on Bainbridge would mean to its next owner, the Schuler Team handles island homes with the same care for continuity that keeps Walt's on Lynwood Center Road, and we're glad to start with a conversation. Request Your Private Home Valuation.