Oxnard Ralphs will close when lease expires in June
Oxnard’s only Ralphs grocery store, located on Saviers Road, is closing in June.
Salvador Ramirez, a spokesperson for the supermarket chain, wrote in an email the closure was prompted after the landlord indicated they wanted to rent to a new tenant. Ralphs' lease ends June 4.
The store’s 57 employees will be offered opportunities to work at nearby Ralphs stores, Ramirez said. There are locations in Port Hueneme, Ventura, Camarillo, Moorpark, Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks, according to the store’s website.
Vallarta Supermarkets has applied for building permits at that Oxnard Ralphs location, said Joe Pearson II, the city’s planning and environmental services manager, in an email. The city has not approved the documents yet.
The nearest Vallarta is about 1.5 miles north of the planned location.
Daniel Garcia, a union representative for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770, said the employees are filled with uncertainty. Once the company announces which store the employees will relocate to, the employees will decide whether they’ll stay with Ralphs, Garcia said.
The employees are unlikely to work at the proposed Vallarta because it’s not a union store, he added.
“The company is doing its due diligence by placing members in other union routes,” Garcia said.
Brian J. Varela covers Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Camarillo. He can be reached at brian.varela@vcstar.com or 805-477-8014. You can also find him on Twitter @BrianVarela805.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oxnard Ralphs on Saviers Road shutting doors in June
