Organic, Lower Prices Top Shoppers’ Grocery List

Even as Gelson’s plans to take over where Haggen left off in Laguna Beach, some shoppers are hungering for an alternative to a grocery store chain that harkens back to the town’s natural-living roots.

Since Haggen filed bankruptcy earlier this month, a question on some residents’ minds is: If Haggen went out of business partly due to overpricing, how is Gelson’s, a pricey specialty market, any different? Others question why open another Gelson’s when there’s one 2.7 miles away in Dana Point?

“I’d be happy with Gelson’s, but it’s a little bit pricey,” said Karin Worden, a local jeweler. “If I had my choice, my favorite would be Sprouts. Gelson’s has the same things only twice as high.”

Worden said she prefers shopping at farmers’ markets. “I want to shop more European, buy fresh, organic, local produce every day,” she said. “By the middle of the week, I need to restock.”

Haggen filed bankruptcy last month. Long-time employees attributed the surprise closure to consistently climbing prices. Customers said the high prices put them off so they shopped at more price-competitive markets outside of town instead.

Scott Holt, a CPA in town, said he never shopped at Haggen. “Too expensive,” he said. “Most people think Laguna Beach has only wealthy people, which just isn’t true. Most people here are hard-working, regular people.”

Smart and Final, the warehouse grocery chain owned by Apollo, LLC, also owns Sprouts Farmers Market. It also placed bids on Haggen markets, but not the South Laguna location, court records show.

Smart and Final bid $56 million for 28 Haggen leases or $2 million apiece, while Gelson’s bid $36 million for eight stores or $4.5 million each. The closest Smart and Final bid location is the Haggen store in Corona del Mar. The bids offered by both chains are considered starting prices by the bankruptcy court, a Haggen spokesperson said.

“It seems like Haggen sort of blew it,” said Chris Keane, who lives near the Aliso Creek Plaza Shopping Center anchored by Haggen.

“Essentially, it was Albertson’s with jacked-up prices. If prices are too high, I’m willing to drive over the hill and go to Sprouts or Wholesome Choice or Mother’s (Market). We go to Gelson’s for specialty items, like their seafood. If they put in a Sprouts, my life would be perfect.”

With suggestions turning to more organic, less expensive products, an idea popping up among other local shoppers is a community co-op with locally grown produce. Markets such as Wild Oats and restaurants like Z Pizza that featured organic products were prevalent in Laguna Beach decades before organic went mainstream.

“Make it a farmers’ market co-op, kinda like Haggen said they were,” said Mark Pacella, a graphic artist who lives in South Laguna. “Maybe parts of it could be broken up so some delis, smaller chains and local farmers could come in there and take sections of it. They could get more organic stuff in there a lot more affordably under one roof like that. It’s like that in China.”

Andrea Deerheart, a psychological counselor and founder of HeartWay end-of-life services, agrees. “My first choice is a co-op,” she said. “If not, then Mother’s; it’s just an excellent fit for conscious Laguna Beach residents.”

A local co-op is still on people’s minds and in their hearts, said Tom Baba, a natural dentist in town. Baba once owned Nothing Added in the early 1990s, a health food store on Broadway and Forest Avenue.

The grocery store building in South Laguna is too big for a co-op, said Baba, who would love to see a Laguna Beach outpost of Organic Roots, a family-owned, organic grocery store and juice bar in Temecula.

Correction:

The article, “Organic, Lower Prices Top Shoppers’ Grocery Lists,” in the Oct. 16 edition incorrectly described ownership of Sprouts markets, which was based on information on the Sprouts history webpage. Sprouts is now a publicly held company.