Grocery Outlet is In
Mammoth PEDC approves design review for new grocery store in Mammoth
This week, The Mammoth Lakes Planning and Economic Development Commission (PEDC) approved a Design Review and Lot Adjustment for a new Grocery Outlet store to be located at 37 and 77 Old Mammoth Road (adjacent to the Shellmart).
Developers representing Grocery Outlet propose building an 19,850 square foot supermarket on approximately 1.37 acres of existing vacant land in the Downtown zoning district. The proposed building will be located on the western boundary of the site, directly adjacent to Old Mammoth Road. Parking, as proposed, will include 49 spaces located to the sides and rear of the building.
One of the lots Grocery Outlet plans to develop, 37 Old Mammoth Road, is colloquially referred to as “The Old Grumpy’s Lot” for the sports bar and restaurant that sat at the site from roughly 1950 to 2000. The building that housed Grumpy’s was demolished in 2000 after being rendered structurally unsound as a result of a fire that occurred in 1999. Since that time, the site has been used for snow storage.
Grocery Outlet proposes constructing a one-story building that ranges from 20 to 30 feet in height. Unlike other Grocery Outlet stores, this one will be painted in earth tones, like “Middlebury Brown” and “Caramel Apple” and “Guacamole Green” in accordance with the Town’s color handbook, which requires “natural, earth-tone colors.” Initially, Grocery Outlet sought a red, metal roof, in keeping with what Grocery Outlet Construction Manager Pat Davis called “the corporate color scheme,” but the Commission asked that they return with another more “rust-colored” option.
Davis told commissioners the store would employ between 28 and 30 people, and that each store is locally owned and operated. Davis said that this store size is “the sweet spot” for Grocery Outlet with regard to success in similar communities to Mammoth Lakes. “We opened thirty stores this year,” said Davis at Wednesday’s PEDC meeting. “They ranged from Burns, Oregon, which is even smaller than Mammoth Lakes, to Cloverdale, California. We also opened four new stores in Los Angeles this year. This store is neither small nor large for us,” said Davis.
When asked if he was certain there was a market to support Grocery Outlet, Davis said he was confident there was a market for bargain groceries in Mammoth Lakes. “At our stores, we offer services and prices for everyone. Every community has a need for bargains and deals. People are surprised to hear it, but our store in South Lake Tahoe does great. Our stores in Palo Alto, downtown San Diego also do just fine.”
