Ralphs Signature (San Diego)

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Ralphs Signature (San Diego)

Post by HCal »

Was in San Diego yesterday and saw the "Ralphs Signature" store in the downtown area. I've never heard of this branding before, and there was no discernible difference in terms of merchandise or service.

Is this the only "Signature" location, and what is the point of this sub-brand? Do other Kroger divisions use it?
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Re: Ralphs Signature (San Diego)

Post by storewanderer »

HCal wrote: April 17th, 2022, 5:24 pm Was in San Diego yesterday and saw the "Ralphs Signature" store in the downtown area. I've never heard of this branding before, and there was no discernible difference in terms of merchandise or service.

Is this the only "Signature" location, and what is the point of this sub-brand? Do other Kroger divisions use it?
The Signature Store was opened during a period when a Fry's person was put in charge of Ralphs. I am not entirely sure what was different about the "Signature" Ralphs (you found the only location with that branding) and a "Fresh Fare" Ralphs. At the time the "Signature" Ralphs clearly had features not present in some other Ralphs and also had a nicer interior and unique layout.

Kroger was opening things called "Signature Stores" in various markets of its own before the Fred Meyer merger. Those stores, for Kroger, were much nicer and larger than a typical Kroger in the 90's. There are also some Fry's Signature Stores which seemed like Fresh Fare Stores to me but seemed larger than a typical Fresh Fare, but not large enough to be a Fry's Marketplace (less general merchandise)...
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Re: Ralphs Signature (San Diego)

Post by HCal »

storewanderer wrote: April 17th, 2022, 7:57 pm The Signature Store was opened during a period when a Fry's person was put in charge of Ralphs. I am not entirely sure what was different about the "Signature" Ralphs (you found the only location with that branding) and a "Fresh Fare" Ralphs. At the time the "Signature" Ralphs clearly had features not present in some other Ralphs and also had a nicer interior and unique layout.

Kroger was opening things called "Signature Stores" in various markets of its own before the Fred Meyer merger. Those stores, for Kroger, were much nicer and larger than a typical Kroger in the 90's. There are also some Fry's Signature Stores which seemed like Fresh Fare Stores to me but seemed larger than a typical Fresh Fare, but not large enough to be a Fry's Marketplace (less general merchandise)...
Interesting, thanks for the info.
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Re: Ralphs Signature (San Diego)

Post by storewanderer »

HCal wrote: April 17th, 2022, 10:35 pm
storewanderer wrote: April 17th, 2022, 7:57 pm The Signature Store was opened during a period when a Fry's person was put in charge of Ralphs. I am not entirely sure what was different about the "Signature" Ralphs (you found the only location with that branding) and a "Fresh Fare" Ralphs. At the time the "Signature" Ralphs clearly had features not present in some other Ralphs and also had a nicer interior and unique layout.

Kroger was opening things called "Signature Stores" in various markets of its own before the Fred Meyer merger. Those stores, for Kroger, were much nicer and larger than a typical Kroger in the 90's. There are also some Fry's Signature Stores which seemed like Fresh Fare Stores to me but seemed larger than a typical Fresh Fare, but not large enough to be a Fry's Marketplace (less general merchandise)...
Interesting, thanks for the info.
I have been confused/surprised why they don't just brand the store as a Fresh Fare. In the last remodel where they pulled the old "Signature" interior and put in a standard Kroger interior it almost felt like they downscaled the store.

If you go to Google Maps you can find some old photos from before it got this interior (2017). It did have a unique interior that no other Ralphs had.

I think the store was potentially opened with upscale hopes but turned into a more "all ends of the spectrum" type of place. The deli used to do an incredible lunchtime business for office workers but given everything that has happened over the years even before COVID and additional stuff opening in the area I am not sure how well that goes anymore.

Jimbo's having to close Horton Plaza in 2020 probably helped Ralphs again.
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Re: Ralphs Signature (San Diego)

Post by luckysaver »

The San Diego store (R123) in Horton Plaza was indeed a Signature store. I see no difference with other Ralphs stores and not sure why it was called a Signature store in the first place.

R291 on Pico and San Vicente (LA's Mid City district) was also a Signature store. It recently had a major remodel with the new "local" package. It is a 200-series store since there used to be an Alpha Beta in the area.

I have a large collection of Ralphs/Food4Less/FoodsCo store directory maps and I classify the stores by their decor package (excluding the fuel centers):

Ralphs:
- Checkerboard (1980's) - this was at the now closed R85 in Bellflower, probably the last store to have this old package. Some of the older 200 and 600-series stores (ex Alpha Beta stores that had only 7-8 aisles) kept the 1990s Alpha Beta decor.
- Value A and Value B: 1990'S bright white interiors with cheap looking signage/lettering (very few of those stores left)
Deluxe (2006-2007 tan interior with cursive lettering) - examples include R67 (Fullerton) and R96 (Pasadena). These stores also have some photos of George Ralphs and some old equipment. R713 (Mission Hills) before its closure/demolition was the last store with Hughes decor yet the company designated this a Value store.
- "K" - standard Kroger package as seen in many Kroger stores nationwide (many stores have this package)
- Local - brand new remodel package since 2019 - this package showcases both the neighborhood and company history.
- Fresh Fare/Marketplace - the upscale stores. These stores are currently getting upgraded to a newer decor. Marketplace stores prominently feature an expanded kitchenware/houseware section but nothing like Frys/Smiths/Kroger Marketplace.
- Fuel Center - based on the former Kroger convenience stores. Only a few of them are walk-in with a couple of aisles of drinks/chips/candy/auto parts. They only have plain white walls with no signage at all because they are meant to be temporary since Kroger sold their c-store business.

Food4Less/FoodsCo
- Yellow & Blue - from the early 1990's. As far as I know, only the Willowbrook store in South LA still has this old package because of the neighborhood that it is in.
- Standard - most stores have this package with pastel paint scheme and assorted department signage
- Green Tag - green & white paint scheme with giant "Green Tag Savings" plastered on the walls. The 3 stores converted from Ralphs (Long Beach, Sylmar, Reseda) have Ralphs layout but Green Tag package. This is the package they use for remodels.
- They briefly experimented with a red & black color scheme at 304 (Corona, now closed) and 347 (San Diego).

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Re: Ralphs Signature (San Diego)

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

luckysaver wrote: May 3rd, 2022, 1:04 am
Ralphs:
Deluxe (2006-2007 tan interior with cursive lettering) - examples include R67 (Fullerton) and R96 (Pasadena). These stores also have some photos of George Ralphs and some old equipment. R713 (Mission Hills) before its closure/demolition was the last store with Hughes decor yet the company designated this a Value store.
- Fresh Fare/Marketplace - the upscale stores. These stores are currently getting upgraded to a newer decor. Marketplace stores prominently feature an expanded kitchenware/houseware section but nothing like Frys/Smiths/Kroger Marketplace.
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The Deluxe interior had similar features to the Fresh Fare Mk I interior. The Fresh Fare Mk I interior had pictures to identify departments. A few San Diego County stores got the Fresh Fare interior around 2009: Carlsbad, Del Mar Heights, and La Jolla (former Smith's). One store near Rancho Bernardo (4S Ranch) was built with the Fresh Fare interior in 2007.

Ralphs is remodeling their Encinitas store, which looks to be an expansion of an older store. I wonder if it will get the new Fresh Fare interior. It would make sense, considering the affluent demographics in the area.
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