Nob Hill Foods on Oak Grove Rd. in Walnut Creek is closing, according to employees at the store.
The store will be closing in March, sources say.
Repeated emails to Nob Hill’s parent company, Raley’s, have gone unanswered.
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63 comments
They are negotiating with the landlord. They have competition in the neighborhod Whole foods and Safeway close and Trader Joe’s a mile down the road. Anyone remember The French Lumber Company. We had two lumber companies now none. Nob Hill is a nice store.
Negotiating with the landlord? So does this mean that there is a chance they will stay?
Yes
@Ricardoh. Do you work there? How do you know they are negotiating? I know someone who works there and nothing has been said about a negotiation.
@ricardoh, the center was called Burton Village and Burton Lumber. Love reminiscing about the good ole days!
… wish we had that lumberyard back
It was from a bulletin my wife read to me. I don’t know the who put the bulletin out but there were quotes from those involved.
TDD You are right. Now I am wondering where the French Lumber Company was?
I am saddened by this. I have shopped there for many years but as of lately about 2 times a week. I will truly miss them.
Who are the e-mails going too? When I have a question or a problem with a company, I will look up the CEO’s e-mail address on Google and send the e-mail directly to the CEO. I’ve done this with Rite Aid, Safeway, and Dollar Tree. The CEO’s personally responded to me, and forwarded the e-mail to the appropriate person who will look into it and try to resolve the issue. Heyward Donigan, the CEO of Rite Aid took the time to call me, she was genuinely concerned and did her best to help me.
There’s a big difference between responding to a customer (who they make money off of) and responding to the media. The media gets used to unanswered requests. They prefer a response, but not hearing back isn’t uncommon. You’re talking apples and oranges.
Nob Hill is a great store.
Sad! It is always much easier to get thru checkout there than at Safeway. But on the other hand, Nob Hill produce has always been iffy. Green potatoes and moldy cherry tomatoes are a couple items that I’ve run into there.
Safeway, Nob Hill and Lucky’s all have poor quality produce. They have for years. Gotta cut costs to keep the union fed.
Whole Foods has superior produce. I didn’t believe it until I tried it. It is better. And I’m no Whole Foods fanboi.
Weren’t they ‘closing’ years ago?
This is disappointing. Easy, peaceful, not stressful and been going for years.
Been there, food is way overpriced.
That’s too bad. There is such a monopoly with the larger grocery stores it’s always nice to have an option.
Always have unique items you can’t find anywhere else!
I won’t lie, I miss California produce every time I go to the store here.
Have you tried the farmer’s market or roadside stands? A neighbor is friends with a guy in OUR Portland (north of you) who grows fantastic tomatoes.
It’s sad less crowd and more choices to choose from
We have been going to Lunardi’s at Palos Verdes for years now. Produce is really good, excellent meat and fish department too with things you often can’t find anywhere else. Good and very personal service!
@ John Tenney~
Lunardi’s at Palos Verdes is our go to, too, about twice a month from Concord. Prices are about the same as Safeway’s produce, but a bit better quality. Sometimes Farmers Markets does not have what I need/want, so Lunardi’s it is.
I agree with you that Lunardi’s has great meat/fish & produce in their…but, their prices are nearly twice as high as other local markets.
Personally, I like Whole Foods & Sprouts Market. Although Whole is expensive unless one has a “Prime” account.
Roz and Wave, we do watch for the sales to do our shopping there. You are right, some of the prices, especially for organic produce and for fish, can be ASTRONOMICAL! Fortunately not always…
I wish I enjoyed going to the farmers market (I occasionally go to the one at Shadelands), but the reality never seems as good as the concept. Awkward bags of produce hanging off one shoulder, fumbling around for the cash for the next purchase, sometimes snaking lines that crowd the display areas, and a feeling that I always have to hurry up and move along so the next person can get to the pay area. If I took some sort of pull cart, I would worry about someone tripping over it.
Lunardi’s has had the best meat and fish for as long as I can remember, but you pay a premium for it.
As far as produce, I never noticed they were that great. Probably better than Safeway, Lucky’s and Nob Hill, but not as good as Whole Foods (which I found out recently.)
When Mangini’s is open, they are the best. Pleasant Hill Market is pretty good too.
I heard they’re closing because the CIA determined that COVID started there…
How very very sad. Soon we will be out of food and no where to shop. I wish The Safeway on Ygnacio would close instead. Horrible parking lot and poor management.
We are in dangerous waters friends and noone to save us from drowning in a cess pool of poor Dem decisions…
That new Safeway blows. Terrible parking with ditches all around, and the least polite shoppers north of Blackhawk. If you want to see the Walnut Creek attitude this is your place.
The staff at Nob hill are terrific, and the parking decent. We’ve been loyal shoppers and hopefully there are enough of us to keep it open.
+1 .I won’t go to that Safeway and I live really close… or the one on Bancroft….. I’ll drive farther and go to the Luckys, Safeway at Kirker Pass or Lunardi’s
Bring back the DMV to Walnut Creek too..
…won’t happen… land is owned by a private party and he sold out to a developer who will go high rise high density like the rest of downtown
Taking away a DMV that was always busy seems like the work of a vindictive bureaucrat. Horrible decision.
The DMV also had terrible produce, and their meat department consisted of roadkill.
Ricardoh – it was not a DMV decision or the city of WC’s… the property is privately owned (leased to DMV for years) …the owner decided to sell the property being as those land is at a premium price – and a developer is happy to build on it (high rise high density) with the encouragement of the city
Randy. With all of the money the state throws around they didn’t have money to buy the land? Dumb move.
Yeah, but did you notice how they were all wearing Racoon hats,
There can’t be many locations where there are three large competing grocery stores all across the street from each other kitty Korner if you will. One had to fall.
This makes me so very sad. Since covid started we began shopping on line at that store, most always get what we want and they have even called a few times to let us know they needed to change something on our order. We picked up groceries from them a couple times a month. Veggies were always good except for two items in two years.
We are elderly and both have medical problems so going back to shopping in person is not a good solution for us. This closing will make our lives more difficult.
Good vibes, great staff, awesome deli.
I worked there 20 years ago. Met some good people there. Hope they find a way to keep it open. Enough businesses have closed down in the last 2 years. Need to go there and say hi and do some shopping.
@The Fearless Spectator – I like what you said. Wasn’t it Jade Garden many of us on Claycord fought to keep open? That’s how I remember it. Yes times have changed, but some things are not worth losing.
This is so sad. I love Nob Hill; the friendliest staff from clerks to managers. It was also my son’s first job!! The Orchards Safeway is horrible. If you manage to park, it’s like walking into a big, black hole and hoping you come out intact. And none of the staff cares – least of all the management.
I love the way that Safeway made the trek back to your car with a heavy, loaded shopping cart uphill.
This is the worst news I have seen lately. I have the same situation as Justaclaycordperson and have been shopping online at Nob Hill for over a year, every week. My husband is disabled and I can’t leave him at home alone for very long, and it is such a blessing to be able to pick up my grocery order at the curb. I often get produce from the farmers’ market across the street at the Kaiser parking lot on Saturdays, which is always fresher than any grocery store. Nob Hill has everything else I would need from a grocery store. Thank you, Dawg, for your suggestion to email the CEO. Ricardoh, I do so hope you’re right. There are so many wonderful employees at Nob Hill who will be losing their jobs if they close. I would miss them and their excellent service in filling my online orders. I don’t know of another store within a few minutes’ driving distance from home that can compare in quality, service, and selection of products. The house brands are excellent and often superior to the other brands, and cheaper, and many items I buy regularly are often on sale at a good price. Let’s show our support by emailing the CEO and buying our groceries there, and I hope and pray that they stay open.
I hate to see it go! The people that work there are so nice and treat you like a friend when they see you. My mom is elderly and always goes to Nob Hill because it’s easy to get around and not packed like the other stores in the area. Very clean store too! They will be missed!
P.S. I noticed one of the earlier comments that repeated emails have gone unanswered, so I will write a letter and mail it. It’s easy to delete emails, but an inbox filled with actual letters should be more likely to have an impact on the decision.
Keith Knopf, CEO
Raley’s
500 West Capitol Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95605
Build back better is forcing some of the grocery stores to move to communities of color?
Now grocery stores are racial, and what if they moved to another more diverse community, shouldn’t everyone not have a good grocery store in their neighborhood? Besides have build back better even started yet, or will it ever?
Stores are moving out of high crime areas, not into them.
…what a shame but unfortunately not surprised.. it has been our go to store too…. for the last few years I could see the lack of maintenance and investment back in the store… when they did the last “restack” they didn’t even replace signage for the aisles and I asked the store manager about it and he said they weren’t replacing any of it… that was a red flag to me then.
When I lived in Benicia I shopped at Raley’s quite bit. If you buy stuff on sale their prices are similar to Safeway. The have certain items I can’t find anywhere else, close by. Such as Pippin Apples, and when in season Gravenstein apples, and their Danish Fontina cheese it better than Safeways, not as salty, a little more nutty, which is what Fontina is suppose to taste like.I think for the most part their produce and Safeway’s are pretty good. I like Sprout’s and they are cheaper than Whole Foods, but they are not that close to me, so I only go once in awhile. However, even Sprouts do not have Pippin or Gravenstein’s apples. Right now I go to Raley’s in Martinez, Safeway usually Willow Pass or the one close to my work, next to SunValley Mall, it is a nice store, but too big I get lost, although there usually isn’t much of a line.
I’m guessing Concord City officials will be “eyeing” this retail space for a possible cannabis store down the line. City officials in Concord are “big” on cannabis stores, even though these cannabis retail outlets are the targets of got toting criminals, also the targets of break-ins and smash and grab robberies.
The cannabis stores are owned by creeps, and many of the customers are creeps too. Did I mention that many of the customers of these stores are stoned when they drive over to buy the pot, and often stoned when they leave too after sampling the pot? Got to think the number of people driving stoned in Concord is going to go way, way up in Concord, thanks to our city officials.
Despite all of this, City Manager Valerie Barrone is strongly committed to turning Concord into Oaksterdam, even though arguably the revenue from the pot stores is not needed (everybody working at the City of Concord today makes 150K to 250K a year, the wages at the city are so inflated you just want to throw up).
Barrone wants Concord to be the number one destination for young people who want to get stoned, many of whom will move on to harder drugs down the line. At least 5 guys I went to high school with – who were stoners in HS, ending up dying of drug overdoses, that’s probably a low figure because drug related death are often hushed up. People that smoke pot often “graduate” to harder drugs.
I myself am looking forward to Barrone leaving, ASAP. We need a new library in Concord, a better city hall, a gym for the kids to play basketball…. the list of things Concord needs is a mile long. Sadly, under Barrone’s leadership all we are getting in Concord is seedy cannabis stores, along with sky high wages for underworked do nothing city officials.
What does any of this have to do with a grocery store in Walnut Creek??
@Lars Anderson…..I don’t know where you went to school but by far the people that I went to high school with in the late 60s/70s that have died were heavy drinkers then and lifelong alcohol consumers….by a long shot. That’s just my observations and opinion, we all have one don’tcha know. Oh, and BTW I’m pretty sure alcohol was the first “gateway” drug. You really shouldn’t paint people with such a wide brush especially people that never learned moderation…..stepping down from my soapbox now.
Now you all know how we felt when both Diablo Foods in Concord closed.
The best butcher shop, best produce and friendly staff.
Is there any other Nob Hill Foods that are local?
It’s sad when these neighborhood stores are forced to close because of the competing BIG chain SUPERmarkets with so so products, taking the business away.
Hopefully, those above are correct and they can negotiate to stay right where they are.
Boo!
All y’all bellyaching about prices should just earn more money. Not qualified for the millions of open jobs?
Earn a graduate degree at night.
Not academically inclined?
Learn a trade. The union halls can’t keep up with demand for skilled artisans.
I’m guessing someone here is a 401K millionaire from the low interest rates, which causes a fall in purchasing power for many, but others took advantage of the skyrocketing stock market.
I’m guessing someone on here is making excuses for people without the discipline to defer consumption or the motivation to invest the time and money to train for a decent job.
Some people want it enough; others are lazy, complain about prices and look for scapegoats.
Guess which ones actually make America great?
They shut down the one in Pittsburg about 6 or so yrs ago, then replaced it with a Food Source. That failed as well (pre Covid). Many employees from Pittsburg ended up at the Antioch or Oakley locations. One thing I learned is not all Raleys locations are union. Possibly that has something to do with this. I do understand the competition in that area, I frequent both Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s and often go into Nov Hill for things I need not found at the other stores. But Pittsburg Raleys was the only true full service grocery store in Pittsburg. Working at JJMC it is convenient to stop at Nob Hill on the way home. I’ll write a letter but it did not work for the Pittsburg store so I’m not holding my breath.
This bums me out. We’ve been using the delivery service because Safeway’s delivery always seemed to be out of about half our order every time, and while the pick-up service was a bit better in that regard, I *hate* going to the parking lot on Kirker Pass. The people there basically drive like assholes – way too fast for a parking lot and act all pissy that you dare to back out in front of them – blind because you can’t see through or around those tint-windowed mini-vans and they have to stop (gasp) to let you complete your your maneuver. The whole thing sucks.
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