|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
After decades serving the Mountain View community, Nob Hill Foods in the Grant Park Plaza shopping center is slated to close in late May.
The upscale grocery store is owned by The Raley’s Companies, which acquired the Nob Hill Foods chain in 1998.
“The Raley’s Companies leadership team has made the difficult decision to close our Nob Hill store on Grant Road in Mountain View,” company spokesperson Chelsea Carbahal said in a statement to the Voice.
Carbahal attributed the closure to economic considerations, noting that the store’s lease was up for renewal.
“After careful review of the store’s performance and economic factors, we have chosen not to extend the lease,” Carbahal said.
The Mountain View Nob Hill store is located in the Cuesta Park neighborhood, near the corner of El Camino Real and Grant Road. Nearby grocery stores include a 99 Ranch Market, Smart & Final and Nijiya Market. There is also a Safeway about a mile away at the corner of Cuesta Drive and Miramonte Avenue.
The news of the closure surprised several customers who were shopping at the grocery store Thursday afternoon.
“It sucks big time,” said George Harris, a Mountain View resident who was picking up a drink at the coffee counter inside the store. “It’s bad news for the community.”
Harris said the friendly and helpful employees were a big reason for why he was a regular shopper at Nob Hill Foods.
“There’s no other store like it,” he added.
Carrying a bag of groceries, Mountain View resident Mike Hatch also expressed disappointment about the store’s planned closure.
“It’s a huge store and very good,” Hatch said. “I hope something comes of it and fills the space.”
Last year, the city discussed the current Nob Hill Foods site, as well as the adjacent 99 Ranch Market and nearby businesses, as potential locations to rezone for multifamily housing. However, none of the property owners expressed an interest in redevelopment at the time.
A store manager declined to comment about the closure and instructed employees not to speak with a Voice reporter on Thursday.
Company spokesperson Carbahal told the Voice that the company would be working to place as many employees as possible at nearby Raley’s locations.
Other Nob Hill Foods stores in the region include locations in Redwood City, Santa Clara, Campbell, Morgan Hill and San Jose.
I cook a lot and find their selection of cheese to be surprisingly good. None of the nearby stores are as good, which is a shame.
I won’t miss them. Hope something good goes in there. Maybe a restaurant.
Pretty good store. I moved to another part of MV but this was my store for ~7 years. What a shame.
Can’t say I’m surprised. That store is at least 50% larger than it needs to be. That makes for a lot of rent paid to basically store all the overpriced housewares and knickknacks that nobody buys. Though they have very high quality meats and produce, it was always hard to justify the premium pricing. The hot and cold food bars always seemed to be closed at pretty early hours as well. It will be missed by us for the select items we buy there, but we’ll get over it. Should be interesting to see what moves in, if anything.
this stinks – this is a great store. friendly staff, kind patrons who always put their carts away. we shop here every week. what a bummer
Very disappointed to hear this
Too bad. It’s my go-to grocery store for last-minute ingredient shopping for dinner, and is easy to get to on bike thanks to the bike lanes on Phyllis.
Extremely disappointing.
They’re coming for our grocery stores. And before you ask the “they” is:
Is “they” people working for our city? (From the article: “the city discussed the current Nob Hill Foods site, as well as the adjacent 99 Ranch Market and nearby businesses, as potential locations to rezone for multifamily housing”)
Is “they” drivers of “the economic climate” *OF MOUNTAIN VIEW, WHERE GOOGLE HAS ITS HEADQUARTERS AND OSTENSIBLY SHOULD AFFORD SHOPPING AT GROCERY STORES? (From the article: “””Company spokesperson Carbahal…the store’s performance and economic factors, we have chosen not to extend the lease,” Carbahal said.””””
All I know is: Raley’s Nob Hill is the closest grocery store for multiple neighborhoods. And it does have a better selection of some things. The BBQ sauce selection is better than the nearby Safeway’s. The rotisserie chickens are better than the nearby Safeway’s.
So, were do we have to go as a backup when Safeway isn’t good enough? Andronico’s (the upscale Safeway)? Or, Draegers in Los Altos (too pricey for being the main store for us poor Mountain Viewers)?
Say it ain’t so. Suggest alternatives, please.
Mountain View losing another grocery store; no more department stores to close anymore. And this time, for housing!!!
What is happening to Mountain View? We are losing many of our good businesses. The neighborhood deserves a Nob HIll. We don’t need more housing! Are we stuck with Safeway? Andronicos does have a decent meat department and deli though. More traffic problems as we drive to a grocery store out of our neighborhood.
This was my walking distance store. I guess I’ll have to drive always.
When Nob Hill closes, along with some of the other stores, will the buildings be boarded up like so many others in our city…then left boarded up for years!!!??? Look at Ron’s Farmhouse building…still boarded up after 15 or so years!!! Even the liquor store and the adjacent building on El Camino at Rengstorff Ave. What is going to happen to all these boarded up buildings!!! TOO MUCH BLIGHT!!!
Sad to see this location never had the business after they updated and moved. The parking lot is terrible to get in and out as Grant road has rush hour back ups and the city is not fixing. Even the other markets have lost business, most likely due to all the online ordering or just all the price increases. & Yes there is a Safeway near by but in reality there are 5 Safeway a Walmart and Target. It is nice to have a variety of other selections.
Another great store leaving Mtn View. The city is slowly killing off families and forcing them out. Restaurants, grocery stores, small retail, all gone. Sad to see.
If the store were being forced out to build housing, it wouldn’t look like this: the landlord would non-renew their lease. So, no need to spread rumors and panic.
First was Fry’s Food store, Food Fair, and then Nob Hill.
To Ross’s point, yes, we’re supposed to be working on a 15-minute walkable city here, right? Closures such as this one need to be taken into account!