Residents Lament Closure of North Pasadena Vons

The just-announced closing of the Vons Market at 1390 Allen Avenue north of Washington Boulevard brought sad reactions from longtime customers, hints of a possible replacement market, and a window into what one industry expert called “the most dynamic, most active grocery market in the country.”

A spokeswoman for Albertsons, Inc. said Wednesday morning that the location will close in mid-April.

The closing will come one year to the month after the closing of the Vons market in the Renaissance Plaza at North Fair Oaks and Orange Grove Avenues. That market was replaced by a Vallarta Supermarket, a Hispanic-oriented grocery store chain.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve this community for over 47 years,” Jenna Watkinson, Director, Public Affairs for Albertsons Southern California Division said in an email. “Unfortunately, while we must close this location in mid-April, we look forward to continuing to serve the Pasadena community with the same superior shopping experience at our surrounding locations.”

The planned future of the property is not yet clear.

Councilmember Margaret McAustin, in whose district the store is located, said Wednesday, “Vons has been operating at that location as long as I’ve lived in this neighborhood and they have been an important part of the neighborhood and how we do our business. So they will be missed, and we are looking forward to seeing a new operator moving to that space that will also be an addition to our great neighborhood and to the city.”

McAustin also said Tuesday she has spoken with the property owner and that “the property will continue to be a first-class grocery store,” but was unable to provide further details, saying only that “an announcement will be made soon.”

The market served a wide a wide swatch of North and Pasadena and Altadena.

“People from Altadena and nearby Pasadena neighborhoods are very sad that the local Vons is closing,” said Altadena resident Monica Hubbard. “We all appreciate the convenience of a local Vons, and losing good union jobs with benefits is never a good thing for a community. Folks who get prescriptions filled there will now have to find other pharmacies that may not be as geographically convenient. Though there are several options for grocery shopping in Altadena, almost none provide the breadth of grocery and other products that Vons does. The store will be missed.”

“It was the local grocery store for my neighborhood,” said Pasadena Chamber of Commerce President Paul Little. “And I know Vons invested a lot of money in remodeling it a couple of years ago, and it was a nice store, and it will be missed. Hopefully whatever comes in will be of similar quality.”

“Mandy,” shopping at the market with her father, “Phil”, neither of whom wanted their last names used, said, “This is the most convenient, especially when my parents want me to pick stuff up, like, randomly, but the other one that we go to sometimes is the Ralphs on Hastings Ranch which is like sort of like a 10 or 15 minute drive and it’s really inconvenient especially because they also close the Ralphs on Lake. It’s like, ‘Why are they closing everything?’

One customer at the store Wednesday, told Pasadena Now, however, “I don’t care because the employees are not really nice, so I don’t mind.”

“It’s a very volatile time actually in Southern California,” said Dave Heylen, vice president of communications for the California Grocers Association. “Very competitive. And that’s another reason why I think particularly in Southern California, a retailer is far more in tune with their shopping base. If not, they’re not going to be in business for very long.”

The closing of an apparently successful market location reflects the new era in grocery retailing, said Heylen.

“I would say that we’re in a time of considerable change,” said Heylen, who acknowledged but minimized the impact of online retailing.

“The impact of online shopping is still relatively minimal,” said Heylen. “It is growing, there’s no doubt about it. Obviously, with companies like Amazon purchasing Whole Foods, I think that kind of signals that online has becoming more popular, certainly among the millennial generation, there’s greater interest, but it’s still just a very small part of a store’s operation.”

According to Heylen, there is little substitute for hands-on shopping, saying, “Most consumers, I think, still want to come in to the store; touch, feel, handle, those type of things. But it is making the retailers think a little bit different; you will see more retailers creating experiences for shoppers in the stores by providing either additional items or products or services.”

Heylen continued, “You’ll see the perimeter of the store having more elements to it, you may see the redesign, you’ll see delivery services, apps, all of those type of things. So certainly, the industry is aware of what’s going on and it’s making change, but it takes time; plus, with the cost factors involved in an industry where the profit margin is so tight, you have to be very careful when you make change. You have to be sure it’s something that’s sustainable.

Heylen also acknowledged the importance of the Southern California retail market.

“You have not only as your traditional shoppers,” said Heylen, “but your traditional stores in which you have a lot of, non-traditionals moving in and you have a strong and changing ethnic base, and so you see more Hispanic, Asian markets starting to open as well.

Heylen also stressed that Southern California is also very attractive for supermarkets, and that there are a number of markets who could fill the gap in Pasadena with the closing .

“I think there are a number of them that are out there,” he said. “And it doesn’t necessarily even have to be a large company that would open the store.”

Heylen observed, “Certainly an independent could come in there very easily. In fact, very quite often when a large store closes, it does create an opportunity for companies that are looking to grow or expand in a particular area. Like I said, sometimes the demographics of the area changes or perhaps a different type of format store would work better.”