Gelsons Laguna Beach closing

[ClownLoach]

https://www.ocregister.com/2024/03/01/g ... ueachBhF00

I'm on a roll... Second time this week I've talked about a store and it showed up in the headlines the next day.

[retailfanmitchell019]

https://www.ocregister.com/2024/03/01/g ... ueachBhF00

I'm on a roll... Second time this week I've talked about a store and it showed up in the headlines the next day.

This was a very nice Albertsons, it had a high-end version of the Jewel interior long ago. Gelson’s buying this store was a head-scratcher to me, considering the proximity of the store in Dana Point.
I suspect the Gelson’s in La Costa is the next closure.

I wonder how Stater Bros. would do in this space?

Congrats, Gelson’s. You’ve given Kroger a possible monopoly in Laguna Beach assuming the 10% chance the merger goes through.

[ClownLoach]

https://www.ocregister.com/2024/03/01/g ... ueachBhF00

I'm on a roll... Second time this week I've talked about a store and it showed up in the headlines the next day.

This was a very nice Albertsons, it had a high-end version of the Jewel interior long ago. Gelson’s buying this store was a head-scratcher to me, considering the proximity of the store in Dana Point.
I suspect the Gelson’s in La Costa is the next closure.

I wonder how Stater Bros. would do in this space?

Congrats, Gelson’s. You’ve given Kroger a possible monopoly in Laguna Beach assuming the 10% chance the merger goes through.

I don't think it had the high end Albertsons decor, that was the Corona Del Mar store another ten miles or so north. It languished with Lucky decor for a long time before finally getting premium fresh and healthy or grocery palace decor as I remember it. I didn't understand why Gelsons bought it other than I did hear a decade plus back there was discussion of someone buying their Dana Point store down the street and rebuilding the property as a luxury hotel. Some restaurants had left that center. So maybe they acquired it from Haggen because they thought they might need a replacement store. Dana Point was also one of the last to get remodeled.

I am not sure about La Costa closing, I think it is OK. The center across the street has been rebuilt as a super ultra trendy restaurant center and is firing on all cylinders. The store looked to me like it was finally catching on. Also don't underestimate the massive expense of reducing the store size - they had to move all the refrigeration amongst other work which represents an investment of millions. That store got a real full remodel from Gelsons including the wine bar, which the failed Ladera Ranch and now Laguna Beach sites did not.

I wouldn't be surprised if Albertsons takes this site back.

[retailfanmitchell019]

I don't think it had the high end Albertsons decor, that was the Corona Del Mar store another ten miles or so north. It languished with Lucky decor for a long time before finally getting premium fresh and healthy or grocery palace decor as I remember it. I didn't understand why Gelsons bought it other than I did hear a decade plus back there was discussion of someone buying their Dana Point store down the street and rebuilding the property as a luxury hotel. Some restaurants had left that center. So maybe they acquired it from Haggen because they thought they might need a replacement store. Dana Point was also one of the last to get remodeled.

I am not sure about La Costa closing, I think it is OK. The center across the street has been rebuilt as a super ultra trendy restaurant center and is firing on all cylinders. The store looked to me like it was finally catching on. Also don't underestimate the massive expense of reducing the store size - they had to move all the refrigeration amongst other work which represents an investment of millions. That store got a real full remodel from Gelsons including the wine bar, which the failed Ladera Ranch and now Laguna Beach sites did not.

I wouldn't be surprised if Albertsons takes this site back.

Found a picture of the high end Jewel interior: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/alberts ... Q8jNxJcIdQ
The Albertsons in La Costa had this version of the Jewel interior.
So did Palm Desert: From @storewanderer

The interior in Corona Del Mar was the "Wegmans style" interior, which the Albertsons on Wilshire in Santa Monica also had.

I also think the Laguna Beach Gelson's site would be a great fit for Bristol Farms.
If Stater can do well in Ladera Ranch and San Clemente, they'd do well in Laguna Beach. If Albertsons takes this site back, I'd expect it to wear an Albertsons sign again.

[veteran+]

I don't think it had the high end Albertsons decor, that was the Corona Del Mar store another ten miles or so north. It languished with Lucky decor for a long time before finally getting premium fresh and healthy or grocery palace decor as I remember it. I didn't understand why Gelsons bought it other than I did hear a decade plus back there was discussion of someone buying their Dana Point store down the street and rebuilding the property as a luxury hotel. Some restaurants had left that center. So maybe they acquired it from Haggen because they thought they might need a replacement store. Dana Point was also one of the last to get remodeled.

I am not sure about La Costa closing, I think it is OK. The center across the street has been rebuilt as a super ultra trendy restaurant center and is firing on all cylinders. The store looked to me like it was finally catching on. Also don't underestimate the massive expense of reducing the store size - they had to move all the refrigeration amongst other work which represents an investment of millions. That store got a real full remodel from Gelsons including the wine bar, which the failed Ladera Ranch and now Laguna Beach sites did not.

I wouldn't be surprised if Albertsons takes this site back.

Found a picture of the high end Jewel interior: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/alberts ... Q8jNxJcIdQ
The Albertsons in La Costa had this version of the Jewel interior.
So did Palm Desert: From @storewanderer

The interior in Corona Del Mar was the "Wegmans style" interior, which the Albertsons on Wilshire in Santa Monica also had.

I also think the Laguna Beach Gelson's site would be a great fit for Bristol Farms.
If Stater can do well in Ladera Ranch and San Clemente, they'd do well in Laguna Beach. If Albertsons takes this site back, I'd expect it to wear an Albertsons sign again.

Albertsons in Palm Desert?

[Bluelightspecial]

[

I wonder how Stater Bros. would do in this space?

Congrats, Gelson’s. You’ve given Kroger a possible monopoly in Laguna Beach assuming the 10% chance the merger goes through.

I imagine the cost of the lease was huge. Maybe Ralphs could use this opportunity to move from their tiny store a little closer to downtown Laguna Beach to a larger location. Whole Foods also has a really small location, with terrible parking downtown. It used to be a Wild Oats I believe. They would do well in that location.

[ClownLoach]

I don't think it had the high end Albertsons decor, that was the Corona Del Mar store another ten miles or so north. It languished with Lucky decor for a long time before finally getting premium fresh and healthy or grocery palace decor as I remember it. I didn't understand why Gelsons bought it other than I did hear a decade plus back there was discussion of someone buying their Dana Point store down the street and rebuilding the property as a luxury hotel. Some restaurants had left that center. So maybe they acquired it from Haggen because they thought they might need a replacement store. Dana Point was also one of the last to get remodeled.

I am not sure about La Costa closing, I think it is OK. The center across the street has been rebuilt as a super ultra trendy restaurant center and is firing on all cylinders. The store looked to me like it was finally catching on. Also don't underestimate the massive expense of reducing the store size - they had to move all the refrigeration amongst other work which represents an investment of millions. That store got a real full remodel from Gelsons including the wine bar, which the failed Ladera Ranch and now Laguna Beach sites did not.

I wouldn't be surprised if Albertsons takes this site back.

Found a picture of the high end Jewel interior: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/alberts ... Q8jNxJcIdQ
The Albertsons in La Costa had this version of the Jewel interior.
So did Palm Desert: From @storewanderer

The interior in Corona Del Mar was the "Wegmans style" interior, which the Albertsons on Wilshire in Santa Monica also had.

I also think the Laguna Beach Gelson's site would be a great fit for Bristol Farms.
If Stater can do well in Ladera Ranch and San Clemente, they'd do well in Laguna Beach. If Albertsons takes this site back, I'd expect it to wear an Albertsons sign again.

Really odd because I do not remember the store ever having the Jewel decor. They must have remodeled it to Jewel for a relatively short time? I just remember that it was a pretty shabby looking store considering it's across the street from the Montage resort which has rooms that are in the thousands nightly. It definitely was gone from the Jewel decor when it became a Haggen. That picture does not look like the store though... The ceiling looks too high. It's a pretty low ceiling in there, which makes me wonder if it was uploaded to the wrong location.

[storewanderer]

I'm showing 42095 Washington Street as the address in Palm Desert of the store with the very strange interior.

Pacific Beach Garnet Albertsons received an early Supervalu Premium Fresh & Healthy remodel that looked nice but kept the tiny department sizes. Gelson's remodel to the store looks fantastic.

Laguna Beach- I am pretty sure that had the last Supervalu interior (the one after Premium Fresh and Healthy), when it was shifted over to Haggen. I am pretty sure it had an upscale interior prior to that, what I can't remember is if it had the Jewel upscale elements or it was the other upscale interior they had that they used on a few stores (one is a store down near San Pedro that is now a Smart & Final).

[retailfanmitchell019]

I'm showing 42095 Washington Street as the address in Palm Desert of the store with the very strange interior.

Del Mar and La Costa (South Carlsbad) Albertsons stores also had this interior. In my opinion, the best looking Albertsons interior. Both are now Gelson’s, coincidentally.

[ClownLoach]

Laguna Beach- I am pretty sure that had the last Supervalu interior (the one after Premium Fresh and Healthy), when it was shifted over to Haggen. I am pretty sure it had an upscale interior prior to that, what I can't remember is if it had the Jewel upscale elements or it was the other upscale interior they had that they used on a few stores (one is a store down near San Pedro that is now a Smart & Final).

The only stores I know of with the extreme fancy decor I call Papyrus decor were San Pedro, Belmont Shore, Santa Monica and Corona Del Mar. But Corona Del Mar was the first to get it, and by far the most luxurious version. It had the crisscross beams all across the ceiling with uplignts concealed in the woodwork, and gondolas with the wood trimmed rails on top concealing expensive T5 light fixtures. So in the aisles of center store all light fixtures were invisible for zero glare, yet it was super bright. The signage also was originally designed with a fancy custom "CdM" logo throughout that location on signs similar to the Jewel decor which has Tiffany style framed images hanging minus colored glass. The other stores to receive this decor got linoleum instead of ceramic tile, and regular Target style recessed light fixtures in the ceiling with less of the crisscross beams. They also had odd diamond shaped blank signs, missing the custom CdM branding icon. The Corona Del Mar store was hands down the nicest store I've seen Albertsons put together. It is "Exhibit A" of why the FTC divestiture model is totally broken. They obviously had to choose to keep that or the Pavilions many miles away on San Joaquin Hills. There is zero cross shop between those two locations. One might as well be in Minnesota and the other Hawaii. Thus they were forced to give up this Albertsons which apparently was historic as the oldest operating store they had in the SoCal market.