Smart & Final Extra opens to a crowd in San Luis Obispo
Smart & Final Extra drew a crowd Wednesday morning at the opening of its new store on Johnson Avenue in San Luis Obispo — the first of three new “Extra” stores the company will open in former Haggen supermarket sites by May. When the others in Atascadero and Paso Robles are open, Smart & Final will operate six stores in San Luis Obispo County.
All three are larger than the traditional Smart & Final warehouse stores and will feature more items, especially for consumers, including more bulk organic options. The new San Luis Obispo store has about 5,000 more household items than the smaller, more traditional Smart & Final at 277 Higuera St. — as well as about 100 organic produce items and a bakery on-site, said David Hirz, president and CEO of the Commerce, Calif.-based company.
Hirz, who greeted customers and met with employees at the new store Wednesday morning, noted that the company has been in San Luis Obispo for a long time and invested about $5 million in purchasing the Johnson Avenue store and upgrading it.
“We’re really excited to be here. ... We love the area; we love the market,” he said, adding that he has long admired the Johnson Avenue store.
Asked what market share he hopes to achieve in San Luis Obispo County once all six stores are operating, Hirz said, “We don’t think too much of the market share question.” The average Smart & Final store will do about $15 million to $18 million a year in sales, he said.
Smart & Final, whose first store in San Luis Obispo 57 years ago sold items only to businesses, bought 28 stores in California and Nevada from Haggen, which went bankrupt.
About two-thirds of Smart & Final Extra stores serve household customers, with the rest businesses, Hirz said.
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This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 12:44 PM with the headline "Smart & Final Extra opens to a crowd in San Luis Obispo."