Q: What do you mean by “neighborhood grocery stores?”

A: It is a city planning concept embraced by the citizens and City of Davis many years ago to design our town to be as bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly as possible and to de-emphasize the use of the automobile. This is accomplished through land use policies and decisions, and has resulted in our town having many pedestrian and bicycle paths, traffic calming measures and open spaces. An important aspect of this design principle is the concept of neighborhood shopping centers that provide the basic necessities that nearby residents need, including groceries, and that many people can access with or without a car. The City of Davis General Plan of May 2001, Section IV, Chapter 1, encourages "shopping opportunities to meet Davis residents' daily needs in areas conveniently located to each neighborhood. The city supports many smaller neighborhood commercial centers each at a focal point instead of fewer larger centers."

Q: But hasn’t this policy proved to be a failure? Many small stores have closed in town.

A: No, this concept is very successful in many different types of communities, including those that are similar to Davis. The problem is that the City Council over the years has taken an inconsistent approach to enforcing this type of land-use planning. Once the city had a limit of 25,000 square-feet for grocery stores, but past City Councils allowed larger, 40,000 square-foot stores to be built. The opening of these large new stores put smaller, older-format stores at a competitive disadvantage.

Q: So this proves my point – small stores are at a competitive disadvantage. The trend is toward the bigger stores, like the Safeway markets in North Davis and South Davis, or the Nugget in East Davis, or big-box stores like the Wal-Mart in Dixon, and the planned Target in Mace Ranch.

A: Not really. The grocery business, like many other things in life, is cyclical. It’s true that there was once a trend toward bigger and bigger stores. But the big stores became like the dinosaurs – they outgrew their environment. Shoppers quickly tired of driving great distances to hunt for a parking space in a vast sea of asphalt, and then hunt for their essentials among miles of aisles. Other factors played a role as well, including soaring gasoline prices, community backlash against the mega-stores, etc. Small, specialty stores have started making a comeback. Then a British company, Tesco, announced plans to open hundreds of small neighborhood stores in the United States, and the rush was on. Safeway, other large chains, and even Wal-Mart, have all launched their own line of small stores, and many are planned to return to previously vacated grocery spaces. We are now seeing a renaissance for the neighborhood grocery store concept.

Q: But haven’t three different stores failed at the Westlake Plaza Shopping Center?

A: Not really. The first grocery store there, Farm Town, was operated by Stonegate developer Al Smith. According to Smith, and many other accounts, the store operated at a regular profit. Smith said he stopped operating the store because he was a developer, and had no desire to be in the grocery business in his later years. The lease was taken over by Ray’s Food Place, a regional chain, which operated for many years. But this was the southern-most location of the Ray’s chain, which created distribution problems for them. In a business decision, they allowed Food Fair to take over the lease. Landlord Jim Barcewski has said in public meetings that the operators of Food Fair wanted to go “dark” right from the beginning, but were told that they could not do that, so they operated for two more years with minimal investments in the store (and it showed) until the lease ran out. So, the market didn’t fail – the operators didn’t want to run it in the first place. Davis has added many thousands of residents since Farm Town operated profitably in Westlake Plaza. Many residents believe that the right kind of store, run the right way, and less than 23,000 square-feet, could be successful in the center.

Q: I have heard that there are not enough people in West Davis to support a grocery store. Is that true?

A: No, as was stated earlier, successful grocery stores have operated at the Westlake Plaza Shopping Center. According to the latest census, done in 2000, there are more than 4,200 residences and more than 11,000 people living west of Highway 113 in the City of Davis. This does not include the thousands of people who live and work just outside the city limits in West Davis (Binning Tract, Golf Estates, Plainfields and west of the city to Winters, the projected UCD West Village, and UCD facilities west of Highway 113). The Pedrick Road produce market is a perfect example of how a store west of Highway 113 can thrive. It is very busy, even though it is in a very remote location, is in an old building and has a limited selection. Stonegate developer Al Smith, in a November 30, 2007, letter to the City of Davis, estimated the market values of the residences in west Davis at $1.5 billion. The people living in that area have a lot of buying power, and they all eat.

Q: Is there community support for a grocery store at the Westlake Plaza Shopping Center?

A: Of course there is! The public meetings on this issue have been among the most well-attended city officials have seen in years. The two neighborhood associations that bracket the shopping center, Stonegate and Village Homes, are among the most active and respected in the city. Neighbors have gotten together to form a non-profit group, Davis Advocates for Neighborhood Groceries, and have collected some 1,000 signatures on petitions. These petitions urge the City Council to deny the landlord’s request remove the city requirement that there be a grocery store in the Westlake Plaza Shopping Center and convert most of the vacant grocery store to offices and other uses. Currently, a major pledge drive is underway to support a full-service grocery solution of some sort at Westlake Plaza or in West Davis.

Q: Can’t the landlord do whatever he wants to with his property?

A: No. There are zoning laws that cover the use of all property in the city. That’s why you can’t convert your home to an auto-dismantling shop. The shopping center was built with the condition that it have a grocery store anchor tenant of at least 15,000 square-feet. Anyone who purchased the property would have been made aware of any deed restrictions.

Q: Isn’t the vacant grocery store already in the process of being converted to other uses? I notice the loading dock has been filled in, and it appears the freezers and the other grocery-related equipment has been stripped from the store.

A: It is illegal for the grocery space to be converted to other uses unless approved by the City. The landlord said in a 2007 public meeting that the removal of the loading dock was a mistake and promised to restore it. As of July 2008 this has not been done. Meanwhile, the landlord has proposed converting most of the 24,000 square-foot grocery store space to other uses, with the exception of a 3,000 square-foot convenience store. This was rejected by the Davis Planning Commission on Jan. 16, 2008. The landlord has indicated he will appeal the decision to the full City Council, but the appeal has not yet been scheduled.

Q: Why not settle for a 3,000 or 6,000 square-foot market? It’s better than nothing.

A: Because the zoning laws require a market of at least 15,000 square-feet to be of adequate size to serve the needs of the community. Most industry experts believe a grocery store in a setting similar to Westlake Plaza must be at least 10,000 to 12,000 square-feet to carry enough variety of merchandise to be viable. At the neighborhood meetings the main critique has been that no one wants another convenience store. We already have a gas station/convenience store in the Circle K on Lake Boulevard just a few hundred yards from the Westlake Plaza Shopping Center.

Q: Does a liquor license play a role in the landlord's efforts to get a convenience store?

A: It just might. The previous operator of Food Fair had a liquor license for the location. We believe this license goes with the location. Circle K on Lake Boulevard only has a beer and wine license. So a convenience store with a liquor licence is what we might get at Westlake Plaza. On the positive side, liquor licenses are controlled by the California Deparmtment of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), and they are very sensitive to community concerns and wishes.

Q: But the landlord says he cannot locate a tenant willing to occupy the center. If no grocer wants to locate there, doesn’t that prove his point that a grocery store won’t work there?

A: Concerned neighbors who have been watching the Westlake Plaza situation closely believe the landlord’s claims are dubious at best. These are the same people who admitted that they didn’t visit the center for many years and allowed it to fall into a shabby state due to lack of maintenance. There were potholes in the parking lot and the parking lot lights were not lit at night. The efforts to market the property seem just as lackluster. This is coupled by the fact that the landlord, by some accounts, has been demanding rents that are out of line with current market rates. The neighborhood group that has formed to focus attention on the Westlake Plaza issue believes more could be done to creatively entice the right tenant for the market space under a broad array of configuration options and incentives. DANG has created its own task force to reach out directly to potential grocers and gauge their interest in a West Davis solution.

Q: I heard the Davis Food Co-op looked at possibly opening a satellite location at Westlake Plaza, but determined it was not feasible. Is that true?

A: Yes, the Co-op did briefly consider the Westlake Plaza site, but was already committed to a multimillion-dollar remodel of its existing store on G Street. This became a contentious election issue, and recently the Co-op has created an Expansion Task Force to re-examine, among other topics, the opportunity for a second store.

Q: But wouldn’t a Davis Food Co-op satellite store in West Davis take business away from the main store?

A: Actually, it’s likely that just the opposite would happen. There are almost 2,000 Davis Food Co-op members that live west of Highway 113, but many do only a small fraction of their shopping at the Davis Food Co-op. Davis DANG volunteers who have been circulating petitions have talked to numerous DFC members who say they would do much more shopping at a Davis Food Co-op satellite store in West Davis. DANG members have also talked to many West Davis residents who said they would join the Co-op if it had a West Davis store. A DFC in Westlake Plaza or at another location in West Davis could serve to protect the Co-op’s market share from predatory retail invaders. Imagine what would happen to Co-op business if another natural foods grocery or specialy food store decided to open up at Westlake Plaza.

Q: What about Trader Joe’s? They would be perfect for that location.

A: Many in West Davis think so, too. However, there has been no public indication from the popular specialty food chain that they are willing to locate at Westlake Plaza. Although the landlord claims he has contacted Trader Joe’s, there is no way to prove that has taken place, or the nature of the discussions of store size, format, rental rates, etc. Trader Joe’s is clearly interested in opening a store in Davis, and at various times reportedly considered locations at the University Mall, the voter-rejected Covell Village development and possibly near a proposed Target on Second Street. Trader Joe’s will clearly be a regional draw, and placing it at Westlake Plaza does make sense because there is relatively little traffic on the surrounding streets and ample parking. However, Trader Joe's opens only a few stores a year and they prefer very high volume locations. The landlord of University Mall has reportedly filed an application with the city to tear down a small medical clinic building in the center, and in its place construct a 12,880 square-foot building to house a Trader Joe's.

Q: It sounds like small stores are the hot trend in the grocery business these days.

A: Absolutely! Industry observers are calling it a "revolution." A number of major chains are looking at small store formats. We think West Davis is ideal for this type of store. We may be ahead of the curve at the moment, but not for long. This trend is already sweeping across Britain, which prompted U.K.-based Tesco to set up a small-market beachhead in the United States, followed by several U.S. grocery chains. The reason is simple. These kinds of markets are lucrative. According to U.K. retail market research firm IGD, overall sales in the small-format convenience grocery retailing sector grew by about 5.1 percent in 2007, which is about 30 percent more than in the larger supermarket sector (Source: Natural-Specialty Food Format Memo report July 14, 2008)

Q: I didn’t shop at Ray’s or Food Fair, so I probably won’t shop at whatever market opens up at Westlake Plaza. Why should I care if there’s a store there or not?

  A: You should care, because a neighborhood grocery store is an asset to your community, even if you don’t choose to shop there. It is a community gathering place, and provides essential food and necessities for those who do choose to patronize the store. The lack of a grocery store will depress property values and place unnecessary burdens on those with limited transportation options, such as the poor, elderly, disabled and students. No grocery store anchor also hurts the many small businesses that are struggling to survive in the center. Local grocery stores are also good for the environment, minimizing the need for cars that burn fossil fuels, resulting in cleaner air and reduced impact on the planet’s ozone layer and global warming. Think globally, shop locally – it feels good.

Q: I haven't been to the Westlake Plaza Shopping Center in a while. I stopped going there because it looked kind of crummy. Why should I go now?

A: If you haven't checked out the center recently, you're really missing out! We must tip our hats to the landlord, who has spent a considerable sum of money in recent months sprucing up the center, and it now looks better than ever. There's a modern paint scheme, new open-air dining areas and updated landscaping. The designers incorporated a faux-silo design element at the south side of the center, which looks very smart. The small businesses at the center appear to be doing as well as could be expected. All that's needed is a strong grocery store anchor and the Westlake Plaza Shopping Center will be one of the nicer places to shop in town.