Smart & Final Extra store to open in Paso Robles
A new Smart & Final Extra store is slated to open Wednesday in Paso Robles — filling a former Haggen supermarket site.
The 39,473-square-foot store at 1191 E. Creston Road is one of three new “Extra” stores opening in San Luis Obispo County.
An “Extra” store opened on Johnson Avenue in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 24, and an Atascadero store is expected to open on El Camino Real by late April — both also filling former Haggen supermarket sites. There will be five Smart & Final stores around the county once the Atascadero location opens, according to Marisol Marks, director of communications at Smart & Final.
A regular Smart & Final store on Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo closed March 1, relocating to the larger Johnson Avenue site, Marks said. She added that the company plans to retain the existing Paso Robles store on Spring Street when it adds the new Smart & Final Extra.
Smart and Final Extra stores are much larger than typical Smart & Final warehouse stores — the “Extra” stores carry an expanded selection of products, according to the company’s website. The Paso Robles store will have a full produce section, organic products, bulk items and expanded frozen, deli and meat selections.
The company declined to disclose its investment in the new Paso Robles store. It invested about $5 million in purchasing the Johnson Avenue store in San Luis Obispo and upgrading it, Smart & Final CEO David Hirz said in a previous interview with The Tribune. The average Smart & Final store will do about $15 million to $18 million a year in sales, Hirz said.
Each Smart & Final store has about 50 full- and part-time employees, Marks said.
During the store’s ribbon-cutting Wednesday, the company plans to present $2,500 donations to the Boys & Girls Club of North San Luis Obispo County and the North County Women’s Shelter & Resource Center, according to a news release.
This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Smart & Final Extra store to open in Paso Robles."