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Danville is losing one of its mainstay grocery stores, with the Lucky California location in the Sycamore Square Shopping Center set to close for good next month.
Signs affixed to the glass entry doors and checkout stations alert shoppers to the impending closure – as do the shelves and refrigerator and freezer cases, many of which were only partially stocked on Monday afternoon.
“STORE CLOSURE. This store will permanently close on Friday, July 17th,” read the paper signs. “You can still enjoy your Lucky shopping experience at our other nearby location: 21001 San Ramon Valley Blvd., San Ramon.”
The decision to shutter the Danville store was “based on economic factors”, according to Phil Keene, senior director of communications, public relations and government affairs for The Save Mart Companies, which owns Lucky brands.
“We routinely assess the performance of all of our stores to ensure they meet business standards. Through the normal course of business, we sometimes have to make the tough decision to close an underperforming location,” Keene told DanvilleSanRamon late Tuesday afternoon.
“We care about each and every person who shops and works at our stores. In the rare case we decide to close a store, we will work to transfer team members to nearby locations, based on availability and seniority,” Keene added.
The grocery store has been an anchor tenant for multiple decades at 660 San Ramon Valley Blvd. in Sycamore Square, several blocks south of downtown Danville – although the name has changed this century.
The store switched from Lucky to Albertson’s (before the latter chain lost its apostrophe) after a parent company acquisition in 1999. It then switched back to the Lucky name in 2007 after Save Mart bought the brand the year prior. The final rebranding occurred in 2019 when Save Mart converted the store into its Lucky California concept.
This marks the second Lucky California closure in the Tri-Valley in nearly three years, with the store in Fallon Gateway in Dublin shuttering in the fall of 2023. In addition to the San Ramon location, Lucky still operates stores in Pleasanton and Livermore.
“Despite this closure, The Save Mart Companies is growing and improving the shopping experience for our customers,” Keene said. “For example, we recently broke ground on new stores in Manteca and Tulare, as well as released plans for a new store in South Lake Tahoe. In addition, we have completed several remodels of stores, including in Ripon and Madera.”
