New build Vons coming to Valley Center (near Escondido)

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Re: New build Vons coming to Valley Center (near Escondido)

Post by rwsandiego »

storewanderer wrote: June 14th, 2019, 10:54 pm This is probably why Kroger doesn't bother to build stores anymore in California. It is just too much trouble. All this back and forth, delays, years of going through planning... costs a lot of money. A lot easier to build a new store in Arizona or Nevada or Ohio...

Now if this was Sprouts or Trader Joe's going into Valley Center, I do not think there would have been much of any opposition... the smaller store size would kill the complaints over store size, the fact that so many people love and get excited about Sprouts and Trader Joe's would overwhelm the few who had some sort of complaint about the store... and they may not even open their mouths knowing how outnumbered they would be.
I doubt a national chain like Trader Joe's or Sprouts would have fared any better. Valley Center is trying to maintain a rural character and cling on to the olden days where one drove 20 miles to a grocery store. Neither Sprouts not TJ's fits that mold.
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Re: New build Vons coming to Valley Center (near Escondido)

Post by Bagels »

When’s the last time Albertsons, Vons or Ralph’s opened a new store (NOT an expanded or replacement store)? The last Von’s I can think of built from the ground up was the Pavilion’s that opened in Irvine in 2007. (Interestingly, at the time of the merger, despite Irvine growing past 250K residents, that was their only store, despite having quite a few in the city when it was much smaller.). Von’s also opened a Pavilion’s in Newport Beach in 2010 that replaced a shuttered Albertson’s (that store’s long time manager was murdered by an employee with a sword while subbing at a store in Irvine in the early 2000s).

Ralph’s opened up a new of new build stores in 2007 - Irvine, Lake Forest (replacement store), Downtown, etc.

And Albertsons? Well, one of the Lucky’s under construction in Irvine at the time of the merger opened as an Albertson :).

I’m sure I’m missing others, but it does seem that after years of mass closures, this is the first new build store in quite awhile.
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Re: New build Vons coming to Valley Center (near Escondido)

Post by storewanderer »

Technically, the last Albertsons to open was the San Luis Obispo Store in the former Scolaris there... it was opened by LLC months after they bought the stores from Supervalu... of course that went to Haggen and now Smart & Final.

Before that there were a couple openings in San Diego late in the Supervalu era (three if you count a replacement that went to Haggen and is now 99 Ranch). I think one closed already. The other is that downtown San Diego Store. I'm surprised that is still open. Eventually the development should pan out for it but it is taking (decades) a while...

There are/were some 2002 era Albertsons around San Diego and up around Temecula.
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Re: New build Vons coming to Valley Center (near Escondido)

Post by rwsandiego »

Bagels wrote: June 19th, 2019, 9:26 pm When’s the last time Albertsons, Vons or Ralph’s opened a new store (NOT an expanded or replacement store)? The last Von’s I can think of built from the ground up was the Pavilion’s that opened in Irvine in 2007. (Interestingly, at the time of the merger, despite Irvine growing past 250K residents, that was their only store, despite having quite a few in the city when it was much smaller.). Von’s also opened a Pavilion’s in Newport Beach in 2010 that replaced a shuttered Albertson’s (that store’s long time manager was murdered by an employee with a sword while subbing at a store in Irvine in the early 2000s).

Ralph’s opened up a new of new build stores in 2007 - Irvine, Lake Forest (replacement store), Downtown, etc.

And Albertsons? Well, one of the Lucky’s under construction in Irvine at the time of the merger opened as an Albertson :).

I’m sure I’m missing others, but it does seem that after years of mass closures, this is the first new build store in quite awhile.
The last new-build Albertsons I can think of in SoCal is the one at 14th and Market in the East Village area of San Diego. It went up in 2006.

One thing to keep in mind is the 2008 financial crisis stopped suburban growth in its tracks for several years. A 200-unit housing development or a new apartment building does not warrant a new supermarket. When new suburbs are not being built new supermarkets aren't being built, either.
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Re: New build Vons coming to Valley Center (near Escondido)

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

Valley Center's Vons could open by next year.
https://www.valleycenter.com/articles/v ... next-year/

I think the last Albertsons stores to open in SoCal pre-SVU were Downey and Murrieta, built in 2005 with Industrial Circus and Jewel Marketplace interiors, respectively.
In the SVU era, 5 stores opened San Diego County: Downtown SD (late 2006 build, now has Brown Lifestyle remodel), Chula Vista (2007, now closed), San Marcos (2008), Alpine (2008), and San Diego-Clairemont Mesa (2010 build, sold to Haggen, then 99 Ranch). These stores were planned by Old Albertsons.
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Re: New build Vons coming to Valley Center (near Escondido)

Post by CalItalian »

Store construction has been delayed...possibly beyond 2021 Q2 or Q3.
https://www.valleycenter.com/articles/c ... struction/
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Re: New build Vons coming to Valley Center (near Escondido)

Post by storewanderer »

CalItalian wrote: November 27th, 2020, 12:06 pm Store construction has been delayed...possibly beyond 2021 Q2 or Q3.
https://www.valleycenter.com/articles/c ... struction/
It will be interesting to see if this actually continues. There isn't a reason for COVID to delay construction for this long. Something else is going on.

Safeway was supposed to remodel its Reno Store around October but that got delayed too. They have been working on it the past week- brought in a new produce wall case and repainted the walls. So earlier this week the produce area was a mess due to having to get the old case out and bring a new case in. When I was in there, on Tuesday night, they had all of the perimeter around meat, bakery, etc. covered up and inaccessible since that area was being painted. I don't know what kind of project management in a grocer gets the bright idea to do a store remodel that obstructs the flow of the operation two days before Thanksgiving but I guess of any year this was the year to do it. Their new build store in Reno is moving along however- the walls are up and the ceiling is getting there.
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Re: New build Vons coming to Valley Center (near Escondido)

Post by CalItalian »

Construction is expected to start in Q1 2022.
https://www.valleycenter.com/articles/v ... ter-of-22/
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Re: New build Vons coming to Valley Center (near Escondido)

Post by Alpha8472 »

This could be due to the labor shortage. There are so many better paying jobs in house building. The housing market is so hot right now that they are paying top dollar for people to build houses. Supermarket remodeling is at the lower pay end. If only there were more hard working people willing to do manual labor for minimum pay and few benefits? Where would we ever find such people?
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Re: New build Vons coming to Valley Center (near Escondido)

Post by CalItalian »

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