With less money going around, consumers are cutting back, and many chain stores nationwide have responded by trimming size and selection.
But Ralphs supermarket in Westwood has a different idea: expand.
Having finished a three-month-long renovation costing several million dollars, the store kicked off its official grand reopening on Tuesday.
The new Ralphs boasts a number of improvements, including a pharmacy, coffee shop, new checkout counters and a wireless Internet center, said spokeswoman Kendra Doyel.
In addition, the store has installed energy-efficient lighting and cooling systems and now uses 15 percent less energy than a typical store of its size, Doyel said.
Doyel said the renovation is part of an ongoing effort by Ralphs to improve customers’ shopping experience and is not a response to changing economic conditions or increased competition.
Some Ralphs employees, however, said sales have decreased since competing grocery store Trader Joe’s opened its doors in December 2008.
“(Business) has slowed down some with the economy and Trader Joe’s, but these are fantastic renovations, and hopefully we can get some people back,” said Lanby Handjojo, who works at the store’s sushi counter.
Customers generally said they were impressed by the changes made.
“The new store is great. It looks like Beverly Hills,” said Dave Howard, a Los Angeles City firefighter.
Another customer, Victor Pedraza, said he believes Ralphs has better atmosphere than many competing grocery stores.
“It’s cool and different from other stores, and they have excellent produce,” Pedraza said.
For some, the main concern was price, not selection.
“I think the new store is beautiful, but the one thing that gets me angry is it costs $20 for spare ribs,” Carmel Hart said.
“Lloyd’s spare ribs,” her husband, UCLA alumnus Marvin Hart, added. The comment earned him a stern glance from his wife.
Kathleen Yuhl, a volunteer for the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, said she is glad Ralphs has made an effort to renovate its store but wishes the supermarket would focus more on giving back to UCLA students and faculty.
“With all the kids that shop (at Ralphs), I think giving more discounts to UCLA people would be great. This day and age, these are the people who are struggling,” Yuhl said.
Ralphs celebrated its reopening with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 9 a.m.
At the ceremony, the store announced it would be giving away two $10,000 donations to Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA and Chabad of California, a Jewish philanthropic organization that promotes education and community service.
Edward McCabe, chief physician of the Mattel hospital, was on hand to accept the donation for the hospital.
Rabbi Chaim Cunin and actor Jon Voight attended the ceremony on behalf of Chabad of California.
Voight praised Ralphs for its social consciousness and wide selection of food.
He stuck around after the ribbon ceremony to shop, pushing his cart through store aisles with casual confidence.
“Ralphs does a lot of good work in the community, and it’s obvious people support this store and feel personal about it,” Voight said. “It’s a good example of how stores should operate.”
He smiled and added an undisguised endorsement ““ “I shop at Ralphs” ““ then walked over to a nearby sample counter and asked to taste a pear.