The only Vons store in Lompoc will close its doors for good in three months.
The Southern California Division of Albertsons and Vons announced that Vons store #1738 at 729 North H St. will close by May 20.
The Vons fuel station, at the corner of North H and East Pine streets, also will close, according to Melissa Hill, public affairs and government relations director for the Southern California Division.
“The employees received official notification this morning of the closure,” Hill said Thursday. “Our human resources team is meeting with the employees and their union to share employment opportunities at surrounding stores — with the goal to place impacted employees at another Albertsons or Vons location.”
The Vons store also has a pharmacy and a Starbucks cafe inside with both set to close.
“We are committed to making this a seamless transition for our pharmacy customers and provide them with uninterrupted prescription services,” Hill said.
Plans call for the pharmacy to close “soon” — Hill didn’t give a timeline — with prescriptions to be transferred to Albertsons store #3171 at 1500 North H St. in Lompoc.
Information about prescriptions for Vons’ customers will be forthcoming, and signs soon will be posted on the store windows providing details, Hill added.
The North H Street Vons location is one of the Lompoc COVID-19 vaccine providers, along with the Sav-On Pharmacy in Albertsons, the CVS Pharmacy at 1317 North H St. and the Lompoc Valley Medical Center.
News of the pending Vons closure was first confirmed by city leaders.
“I am very concerned for our community at the loss of a large retailer,” Mayor Jenelle Osborne said, noting the loss of living-wage jobs for store workers.
The closure also will affect residents of nearby neighborhoods, where many people without vehicles walk to the store for groceries, she added.
In addition to a Vons’ sibling store of Albertsons, Lompoc shoppers have Grocery Outlet, Foods Co., Walmart Supercenter and Dollar General among their grocery options.
But the closure will leave another large retail space vacant in the city, where the former home of Mervyn’s and Fallas remains empty on H Street.
This isn’t the first time Vons has closed a store in Lompoc. Another Vons store, on West Ocean Avenue, shuttered in 2011.
“Like all retailers, we are continually evaluating the performance of our stores. Closing a store is always a tough decision, but we are focused on growing our business by being the favorite local supermarket and running great stores where people love to shop,” Hill said.
Vons is part of Alberstons Companies with 2,200 supermarkets across 34 states and the District of Columbia under 20 names, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen and Carrs.
The closure of the Vons location will leave just one Vons store in the North County — the small store on East Main Street in Santa Maria. In addition to Lompoc, the North County’s Albertsons stores also located in Santa Maria, Orcutt and Buellton.
Longtime residents will remember that many of the Vons stores once were part of the Central Coast’s homegrown chain of Williams Bros. Markets before they were purchased by Vons in 1992. Two years later, Vons discontinued the Williams Bros. brand, but a website keeps the Williams Bros. Markets history alive.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.