One of the Tri-Valley's first Asian supermarkets is closing.
The closure
99 Ranch Market's parent company, Tawa Supermarket Inc., filed state layoff notices Monday for two California stores, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Pleasanton store at 4299 Rosewood Drive will close Dec. 5, affecting 54 workers. The Chino store will close Nov. 15, with 49 layoffs.
"This decision will optimize our store network and allocate resources more effectively to better serve our customers," a company spokesperson told the Pleasanton Weekly.
16 years in Rose Pavilion
The store, at Rosewood Drive and Santa Rita Road, opened in April 2010 in a space once occupied by Levitz Furniture, the Weekly reported. 99 Ranch added a second Pleasanton store in 2018 at Pacific Pearl on Stoneridge Drive. That store and one on Regional Street in downtown Dublin will remain open.
More competition
Both papers point to rising competition among Asian grocers. Korean chain H Mart opened its first Tri-Valley store this year, a few blocks from the Dublin 99 Ranch, and plans a two-level store in Fremont. T&T Supermarket opened a San Jose store in June. Founded in 1984, 99 Ranch now has more than 60 stores in 11 states, according to the Times.
The Weekly notes the closure adds to Pleasanton's empty big-box spaces, including a former Walmart Neighborhood Market farther down Santa Rita Road.