The Ralph’s Supermarket over on Seventeenth and Bristol, in Santa Ana, is closing on May 21. It is a shocking development. The only other Ralph’s in the area is way up on north Main St., in Orange, just past Chapman. How did this come to pass?
A pajarito reported today that the landlord at the property in question suddenly tripled Ralph’s rent. Hmmm…how very fishy. Why get rid of a good tenant? My pajarito surmised that perhaps this was prompted by Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, who wants to drive business to the new Mother’s Market that will be opening on Main St., across from the Mainplace Mall, in the new City Place shopping center.
It is hard to believe that a property owner would go along with Pulido, but don’t be surprised if the old Ralph’s location ends up becoming yet another Hispanic supermarket. This won’t please many of the folks who live in that area, but I am sure Pulido won’t mind if they drive up to the new Mother’s Market. But will that store really fill their needs?
I guess if the people of Santa Ana suddenly decide they want to pay more for organic groceries and strange vegetarian food, Mother’s will be a great choice. But the City Place shopping center is very short on parking. And the Ralph’s in Orange is only about five minutes north of the new Mother’s. I will still be going to Ralph’s. And spending my money, and my sales tax, outside of Santa Ana.
Won’t it be ironic if Mother’s bellies up in a year or so and is replaced by yet another Hispanic supermarket? Maybe they could call it “Mama’s?”
Good lord, Art. Go back and read that second paragraph…and then convince us that isn’t one of the most ridiculous things you’ve ever written.
You need to take what your parajitos say with a grain of salt. But when one is predisposed to think the worst of pretty much everything and anyone, I guess that’s hard to do.
What, pray tell, is the mayor’s interest in supermarkets exactly? Edumacate me.
SMS
Sad to hear this.
There is a great vintage photo of this Ralphs here:
http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt009nb5w0/
Pantry at Bristol and Memory became Vons, then Fiesta, now Rite Aid.
Alpha Beta at 17th and Ross became Big Saver.
Now Ralphs is closing.
What’s next?
Sarah,
His interest is in gentrification. And he wants City Place to prosper, even though it is floundering.
Art-
I understand this. But even though what happened to Ralph’s helps achieve that end, do you think the mayor is personally involved or are you blaming him for creating an environment in which these types of things are possible?
SMS
Sarah,
I don’t know for a fact that he is involved directly, but if he were it would not be a surprise. Pulido sits on a lot of boards and is very tight with developers, property owners and the banking industry. He most certainly could be up to his neck in this.
Or he may not, but it makes for interesting conjecture…
SMS,
If you’re expecting an educated, balanced, objective answer to your questions from Art, you might want to think about keeping your expectations low.
The loss of this Ralphs will affect many in the area, including those in the Mayor’s own neighborhood…predominately caucasians who have already been in the area for decades. Now, tell me how that amounts to gentrification. And the notion that people, especially families, are going to do their main grocery shopping at Mother’s Market is ludicrous.
Welcome to the Mind of Art…it works a lot like Oliver Stone’s.
Northgate Market would be an ideal fit at that location.
#8
Actually, I’m quite satisfied with Art’s answer.
SMS
“Actually, I’m quite satisfied with Art’s answer.”
Well I guess that tells us all we need to know.
I hope the Ralph’s becomes a Gonzales Market…they have the best tortillas!!!
I agree that the closing of this Ralphs is a big loss for the area. But the sales tax revenue from a grocery store is minimal, since most of the items sold are non-taxable. Interesting to see how long the location stay vacant and what eventually replaces it.
Wow, Sarah. My respect for you just plummeted. Art gave you a total non-answer and you are satisfied with that?
If Pulido REALLY had anything to do with this and REALLY wanted to gentrify the area, he would have (because, according to Art, Pulido controls everything) changed the old Ralph’s to a new Ralph’s Fresh Fare. You DO NOT grocery shop at Mother’s unless you are very well-off, and their selection is tiny compared to even the smallest Ralph’s.
Further, sales tax from a Ralph’s, Vons, Whole Foods, or even Trader Joe’s would certainly be higher than Mother’s, so essentially – Art is COMPLETELY wrong.
And you find that satisfactory.
Pathethic. Oh well, so much for the objectivity of SMS. Time to move on…
Actually I would be interested in what the manager of the Ralphs store has to say rather than an unknown parjarito. This sounds more like a case of white flight than some covert plan by the mayor. Nearly every major grocery chain has bailed out of SA and been replaced with Northgates or some other marcado. Personally I’d shop at any one of them if the vegetables or meat was fresh and good. A little English, good service, lower prices and I don’t care who runs the store.
The Mayor is as crooked as a dogs hind leg but turning another chain store into a local is not going to help his rich bud sell those high priced condos. Even rich folk have to eat and like a good price.
Rob-
Sorry to hear that you no longer respect me. I asked Art the question so that he could clarify whether he was making an accusation or speculation, and he answered ‘speculation,’ so I guess you missed the point. But to yours…
Please read the comments from #13 and #15. I’m just trying to populate a list of people who benefit from this recent turn of events, and it seems like nobody at the moment, even though I’m sure that will soon change. I didn’t intend to try to make a statement on the matter, but if you insist…
I, like Art, don’t understand why a landlord would triple a good tenants rent, and it seems like a situation like this makes more of a case for Prop 99 than anything else I’ve seen.
In regards to Mothers, the building is the area is seemingly incompatible with their business plan, so eventually a Hispanic market will go into the unit. It’s inevitable, but who says that’s a bad thing? Shouldn’t the hard-working Mexican families of SA have the same opportunities as their American counterparts to be successful entrepreneurs? So does this contribute to gentrification?
Is that what you were expecting me to say?!
SMS
There’s already a Northgate/Gonzalez Market a block west of the Ralphs. It’s a cramped market, so I suppose it could move up to the Ralphs location.
That Ralphs is the second worst Ralphs I’ve ever been to, selection-wise. The worst is the one in Inglewood. Nice staff, though.
That Ralph’s wasn’t exactly a Gelson’s Market! I think those who shopped there will see a Northgate market as a step up! Was a Mexican market…will continue to be a Mexican market and so what??? Pass me some chips and salsa so I can finish reading this blog…
#18
Yum! Chips and salsa sounds good. Your house then?!
SMS
thanks for the photo of Monkey Wards. That’s where Robby Richardson’s mommy worked.
I heard that Northgate will be going in.
#21
Where did you hear that?
Northgate seems to be just the right store for the building and the location, so at least some part of this whole brouhaha makes sense.
SMS
I heard it from my son’s buddy and from the employees from Ralphs. Which, by the way are in complete limbo from the company. When asked if they were going to be transferred to other stores, the reply was that they will not be told anything until the last day. So here you have many employees who have been employed by Ralphs for many years and basically they are going to string them along until the very end when I think they will let them all go…some of those folks have been working for the company 25/30 years. Some lost EVERYTHING with the last strike. Frankly, I lost all respect for Ralphs after the strike and how they treated their employees. No…I like the people that work at Ralphs, but the company itself I don’t care for.
Well a Northgate would certainly gentrify the area. LOL…Not!
#23
Oppose the war, but support the troops. Love the sinner, hate the sin. 😛
That’s a real shame about the employees there, and I’m glad someone recognized them as victims in all this. The only thing worse than a job at Ralph’s is job hunting! I know the landlord tripled their rent, but they should do something to quell their employees legitimate worries. Congratulations Ralph’s! Great job.
SMS