Raley's closing Modesto's Century Center store

Raley's is closing its Century Center location in Modesto at the end of March.

The West Sacramento-based grocery chain announced the closure Tuesday, as well as the shuttering of a Bel Air in Elk Grove.

Raley's spokesman John Segale said the Modesto site was selected after the company reviewed all its stores to see which were underperforming. "The future sales simply would not meet the increase in operating costs at that location," he said.

The Century Center location has 76 employees. Segale said some of those employees could be offered positions at other Raley's locations, although layoffs are expected.

Raley's has two other stores in Modesto — on Tully Road at Standiford Avenue and at Floyd and Roselle avenues.

The Raley's store has anchored Century Center since 1979, when the shopping complex opened. It was Modesto's second Raley's, following its Tully Road outlet.

Its closure marks another in a series of high-profile businesses to leave the shopping center.

In July 2009, California department store giant Gottschalks went out of business, leaving an empty 90,000- square-foot anchor spot, which is still vacant today.

In April 2011, The Ice Cream Co. closed after 30 years in business. A new couple have purchased the 30-year Modesto landmark and are in the process of reopening the restaurant.

Then last week, it was announced that the Hallmark Gold Crown store, which also has been in the center since 1979, will close at the end of February. The Country Shelf Floral & Gifts moved out after almost 30 years at the center, landing at 2307 Oakdale Road.

Owner Pat Crabtree has said the move into the same shopping complex on Oakdale Road as Jonathan's Fish & Meats and the Chefs of New York restaurant came after seeing foot traffic in her old site dwindle since the departure of Gottschalks.

Segale said he is not sure how big an impact the Gottschalks closure has had on traffic at the Century Center Raley's. But he said current sales volume for the store simply did not match operating costs for the building.

He also said the emergence of competitors in Raley's Northern California and northern Nevada sales area has cut deeply into traffic and sales.

"The biggest challenge," he said, "is since 2008, there have been more than 250 nonunion retail outlets that have begun selling groceries in the Raley's territory. So their operating cost is a lot less than ours."

Modesto has seen an increase in grocery competition in recent years with the opening of Fresh & Easy, Winco, Sunflower Farmers Market, Grocery Outlet and other regional chain stores.

Groceries increasingly are being sold by big-box retailers, such as Wal-Mart, Target and Costco.

Despite all the departures from Century Center, it recently got a new tenant. Planet Fitness has moved into part of the old Gottschalks retail space. Part of a national chain, the club is the first in Modesto.

The newly opened club occupies a 23,000-square-foot spot and has cardio and strength-training equipment and free trainers. The gym is open 24 hours, seven days a week and staffed around the clock.

While Century Center has lost its largest tenants, many longtime businesses remain, including Ridgway's restaurant, Torii Japanese Steakhouse, Starbucks, Creations Salon, Terry's Touch of Gold jewelry and GNC.

Bee staff writer Marijke Rowland can be reached at mrowland@modbee.com or (209) 578-2284.

This story was originally published January 10, 2012 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Raley's closing Modesto's Century Center store."