The Rancho San Miguel Market, a 100% employee-owned company, officially opened March 2 in Sacramento’s Oak Park with support from the City of Sacramento.
The City Council April 2020 approved the investment of a $1.1 million loan for the renovation of the space to support underserved communities and improve food access.
The 51,000-square-foot grocery store located at 4401 Broadway offers a full-service bakery, meat and seafood departments as well as freshly made Hispanic Grab & Go items, salsa and ceviche bar and more.
The space previously housed a Food Source grocery store, which opened in 1999 and closed in March 2020. Since then, the location had been vacant, with the property owner and City of Sacramento working to find a new tenant.
“The full-service supermarket will support healthy food access, retail services, and employment for the community,” said Councilmember Jay Schenirer, who represents the district. “I am glad the City was able to support this project with the funding to make this project successful for Oak Park and the surrounding neighborhoods.”
“Communities of color in South Sacramento have watched grocery stores disappear from their neighborhoods, creating food deserts,” stated Mayor Pro Tem Eric Guerra. “I am thrilled for the opening of Rancho San Miguel Market, which will bring fresh, nutritious, and affordable foods back into the community, along with local employment opportunities.”
PAQ, Inc. which operates the Rancho San Miguel markets, currently has 22 stores throughout the Central Valley and Central Coast regions. This will be the first Rancho San Miguel Market in Sacramento.
Representatives from PAQ, Inc. said they created a total of 93 jobs for the new store. Seven of those positions were advancement opportunities from within the company, and 86 employees were hired locally for the store.
The company partnered with Sacramento Employment and Training Agency (SETA) and local community-based providers for assistance in recruiting the store’s new employees. Also, the company is investing over $7 million for store renovations, inventory and initial operating costs.
“We are excited to provide affordable food to this community,” said Bill Cote, CEO of PAQ, INC. “This site is commonly referred to as a food desert. There are no low-cost grocery store options in the Oak Park, Tahoe Park and Elmhurst neighborhoods. Our stores are designed to appeal to price conscious consumers with quality products.”
The $1.1 million loan, to property owner Broadway/Stockton Food Source Investors, LLC, an affiliated company of SKK Developments, will provide resources to rehabilitate the building and bring needed improvements.
Funding for the interest-bearing loan would come from previously established Oak Park redevelopment bond funds that must be used in the neighborhood and will become part of a new Oak Park Revolving Loan Fund.
The store will serve as an anchor for the Broadway/Stockton corridor and compliments the other activities underway for the corridor including the development of a Stockton Boulevard Plan, transportation plans and new housing development. The multi-billion-dollar Aggie Square project, spearheaded by UC Davis, is located just a few blocks to the north of this site.