Customers share what’s top of mind as longtime family-held Save Mart changes ownership
Modesto customers have mixed reactions to the news of Save Mart Supermarkets’ new ownership.
The company announced Monday that it had been acquired by a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, ending 70 years of local ownership for the Modesto-born chain.
The chain — which includes Save Mart, Lucky California, and FoodMaxx grocery stores — was bought by Kingswood Capital Management LP.
The Bee spoke with customers outside the Save Mart store at Sylvan Avenue and Oakdale Road in Modesto on Wednesday morning.
Some, like Martha Fisher, who has been buying groceries from Save Mart ever since she and her husband relocated from the Bay Area a decade ago, said they’ll withhold judgment until seeing if the new ownership changes anything about selection or prices.
“Everybody in there is so nice,” she said of the staff. “We like the variety and the prices.”
Miriam Fernandez has been shopping at Save Mart once a month for 20 years. The Modesto resident said she is not particularly worried about changes to the store or the company’s image as a Central Valley local business.
Like other shoppers, Fernandez said the deciding factor for her will be prices. “Hopefully, they just keep everything the same,” she said.
Amy Diaz also has been a Save Mart customer for two decades. She said she worries that prices may increase under the company’s new ownership. The store is close to her house, she said, but she would consider changing supermarkets if there’s an uptick in cost and a change in selection.
Local history and local connection
Ralph Lucero, an outside sales representative for Indoor Media, was on his way into Save Mart to install more register receipt tape Wednesday morning. His company supplies the chain with advertisements for the back of their receipts.
Lucero said he learned of the acquisition from another one of his customers.
“It was kind of a shock,” he said. “I don’t know what to feel right now, I’m still trying to sort it out and trying to figure out what direction the new company is going.”
Lucero said he expects a smooth transition between owners, and little effect on Save Mart’s customers. Maybe the store will change its product selection a little, he added, but overall, the company’s image as a local business “is going to be fine because it’s been well-built.”
Modesto resident Nancy Howard told the Bee in a Facebook message that while she was never a Save Mart shopper herself, “the idea of it being family owned for so long appealed to (her).” The company was founded in Modesto in 1952, and its headquarters have remained there ever since.
“That family owned businesses sign off to the corporate world is not something I like,” she said. “Being in a farming community and purchasing from local growers is what is good about smaller businesses. It is just a shame that family businesses aren’t continuing is what makes me sad.”
Modesto native Dominic Taylor has been going to Save Mart his whole life and the customer service and friendliness of the staff keep him coming back. He said the quality of the food is great, and the prices are “reasonable,” but the company’s local ownership was important to him, too.
Now that Save Mart’s owners are going to be L.A.-based, Taylor said, it “changes a lot” for him and he is considering switching grocery stores to stay at a more local chain, like West Sacramento-based Raley’s.
“I wish that we could keep it local instead of going corporate,” he said.
To help fund The Bee’s economic development reporter with Report for America, go to https://bit.ly/ModestoBeeRFAThis story was produced with financial support from the Stanislaus Community Foundation, along with the GroundTruth Project’s Report for America initiative. The Modesto Bee maintains full editorial control of this work.
