Goleta, CA (May 14, 2014) – On Friday, May 8th, Smart & Final Extra! signed on to be the anchor grocery store for Hollister Village Plaza, a new neighborhood shopping center coming to Goleta in 2015. Hollister Village Plaza, which is currently under construction, is located at 7000 Hollister Avenue, right off of the 101 freeway at Storke / Glen Annie Road.
“I’m excited to hear that Smart & Final Extra! has chosen Goleta for its next grocery store. I’m confident it’s the perfect fit for Hollister Village,” said Michael Bennett, Mayor of the City of Goleta.
Smart & Final Extra! is a newer concept that combines the high quality fresh produce of a farmer’s market, the low prices of a discount grocer and the large club size products of a traditional club store. With greatly expanded grocery selections including organic produce and a larger deli / meat section, Smart & Final Extra! is designed as a larger footprint than their traditional stores. The store will still sell bulk items necessary for businesses and organizations, but will be dominated by thousands of groceries in smaller, convenient sizes aimed for customers in the Goleta residential base.
“We believe that Smart & Final Extra! will be a great asset to the shopping core along Hollister Avenue and will enhance key shopping opportunities for the Goleta community,” said Jud Dutrisac, COO of Westar Associates, the project developer.
Smart & Final’s origins trace back to the Hellman Haas grocery chain, in 1870’s Southern California. In 2008 Smart & Final introduced its new concept, called Smart & Final Extra!, to extend its customer base in order to serve more consumers. Of the 194 existing locations, 76 are now Smart & Final Extra! units, and the company plans to open or renovate an additional 22 stores to the format this year.
In the May 2014 issue of Shopping Centers Today, Smart & Final’s group president of real estate, Tony Bernardini, said, “We really have two components to our business. We have wholesale customers who shop for their small restaurants, delis and sandwich shops, and we have household consumers, just like other supermarkets.”
Smart & Final Extra! will occupy 24,757 square feet of Building B, located on the western side of Hollister Village Plaza. This will be the second Smart & Final Extra! store to open in Santa Barbara County.
Hollister Village Plaza is part of the mixed-use project known as Hollister Village. The project, expected to be completed in 2015, will include a 76,000 square foot neighborhood shopping center along the Hollister corridor and an adjacent 266 unit apartment community.
