Grocery Outlet appears on its way to opening a store in Pleasanton after leasing the supermarket space in the Vintage Hills Shopping Center that has sat empty since New Leaf Community Markets left nearly four years ago.
It remains unclear when the new grocery store will welcome customers, but signage posted outside the unit at 3550 Bernal Ave. confirms tenant improvements are underway inside and that the company has applied for an alcohol license.
Representatives for the Emeryville-based chain of discount supermarkets declined to comment on the retailer’s move into Pleasanton when contacted this week. With dozens of stores across the Bay Area and Northern California, among other locations, Grocery Outlet’s only Tri-Valley location is on Railroad Avenue in Livermore.
City spokeswoman Cindy Chin confirmed that the city is aware of the new lease and Grocery Outlet’s desire to update the interior and signage for the building, though no applications have been filed yet.
“Since this would be a new grocery store, consistent with the prior tenant’s use, no new use permit is required. We are expecting submittal of tenant improvement plans relatively soon for interior changes, which once approved would allow that work to proceed,” Chin told the Weekly.
“Grocery Outlet proposes to re-paint portions of the exterior facade, which will require a staff-level minor design review permit approval; new signage for the store will also be approved at the staff level,” she added.
The supermarket tenant space is the largest unit and designed to anchor the small neighborhood shopping center at the corner of Bernal and Vineyard avenues.
Santa Cruz-based retailer New Leaf occupied the space for just under four years until closing its Pleasanton store in early 2017. Before New Leaf opened, the unit had been empty for nearly 15 years after the old Romley’s supermarket shut down. A faded New Leaf sign still greets customers turning in to the shopping center from Bernal Avenue.
The Vintage Hills Shopping Center also lost Platinum Fitness as a major tenant in recent years, and Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt vacated a corner unit there in February. A handful of other smaller units remain occupied, with the primary active tenants in two medium-sized spaces being child care and education centers on either side of the supermarket.
