After years of development and months of construction, a new-concept Lucky California grocery store has opened its doors in Pleasanton last week, serving as the flagship location for the company’s reimagined shopping experience.
Doors to the redesigned Pleasanton store opened to the public at 6 a.m. May 12 at the site of the former Lucky supermarket. The extensively remodeled store will act as an innovation lab for future stores and possesses a number of features tailored to local Tri-Valley producers and culture, according to company officials.
“We are very excited to offer a new level of shopping convenience with delicious, made-fresh and easy solutions all at the low prices our guests expect and deserve,” store director Mario Guerrero said. “Our goal is to make shopping and food enjoyment exciting again for the Pleasanton community and the Tri-Valley.”
Located at the corner of West Las Positas Boulevard and Hopyard Road, the store will offer everything shoppers would expect from a neighborhood grocery store, along with a variety of curated selections from local bakeries, wineries and a variety of other offerings.
In addition to offerings from local businesses, Pleasanton’s Lucky California includes a number of unique experiences, including “The Eatery”, “The Drinkery”, “The Meat and Seafood Grill”, “The Demo Station” and “Entertaining Island” — each with customizable offerings for shoppers.
The Pleasanton location will serve as the testing ground for new innovations under the Lucky California brand, according to company officials, who say that they intend to convert every Lucky location into a Lucky California, with each of those locations being customized based on the culture and offerings of its home city.
“We’ve already begun to form those productive relationships in a way that these out-of-state interlopers who are in search of a commercial transaction in Pleasanton can’t match,” CEO Chris McGarry said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 11.
“This store, Lucky California, is Pleasanton. We are from here, we hire from here, we live here, we work here, we invested in the institutions in Pleasanton. That is Lucky California, we identify very strongly with the communities in which we operate and that will become known to all of the residents of Pleasanton,” he added.
In a move store officials hope will demonstrate their commitment to the community, during the ceremony Lucky California announced more than $35,000 in charitable investments to organizations that benefit the Tri-Valley.
Those included donations to the Pleasanton Partnerships in Education Foundation, Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council, Alameda 4-H, the Alameda County Food Bank and the culinary arts programs at Foothill and Amador Valley high schools among others.
“We wanted to thank Lucky California for the unbelievable partnership you’ve had with us over many years and for whose wonderful commitment and reinvestment into our community,” Tracey Lewis-Taylor, board president for the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce, said at the ribbon-cutting. “I also had the opportunity to tour the store and I was sharing with Mayor Brown that I am a secret lover of going to the grocery store, it is my favorite hobby and I will absolutely find my way here regularly.”
“Nothing was in the store and now it is immaculate; it’s like there isn’t a grape out of place in that store. It is so gorgeous,” Mayor Karla Brown added. “We know that Lucky California had many places to choose from when they were picking their flagship store, and I’m so incredibly proud that you picked Pleasanton to show shoppers what a real food experience looks like.”
