Foothill Retail Corridor

The new Walmart Neighborhood Market at 2408 N Lincoln opened on March 1, 2013. The store, located at the signalized intersection of Figueroa Drive, is a new format to the Los Angeles retail market.

According the Walmart website “the new Walmart Neighborhood Market is tailored for the Altadena community, featuring a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, fresh cakes and bread, as well as meats, cheeses and prepared foods. The deli will feature a Grab-and-Go section with rotisserie chicken, fresh-baked pizza and standard deli sides. In addition to the fresh produce, bakery and deli items, the store will carry a full line of groceries, including frozen foods, meat and dairy products and organic items.”

I went in to the new store last Wednesday around noon, and there was a lot of activity. It looked very similar to the Walmart Neighborhood Market I went into in Oklahoma City a few years ago. Very clean and bright. I suspect we will see more of these stores going into vacating big box stores in the area.

According to assessor records, the building is 240,500 square feet and it sits on just over three acres. In its previous life (see photo below), the building was a thrift store and long before that it was another grocery store.

The new Walmart Neighborhood Market was previously a thrift store.

This month’s entry focuses on the closures and layoffs of just Los Angeles County, rather than including nearby areas such as Chino or neighboring Orange County cities, simply because the list is growing too large.

What I find interesting in this list is the number of medical jobs being eliminated (City of Hope 185 employees and Antelope Valley Hospital 45 employees). Supposedly medical jobs are one of the growth industries. Not surprising, aerospace is taking another hit, with Ball (120), JPL (33) and Northrup (75) eliminating a total of 228 positions. With budget cutbacks and aerospace moving out of California, I think this trend will continue.

In my previous post I listed Los Angeles regional closures and layoffs. While that post indicates a Los Angeles region that is still suffering major job losses, a closer look at the cities that comprise the Foothill Retail Corridor (“FRC”) presents a healthier job situation overall, but with a wide disparity within the FRC communities.

Comparatively, the FRC has a lower unemployment rate (9.3%) than Los Angeles County (13.4%) and California (12.8%), but is closer to the national average of 9.7%. However, the cities that comprise the FRC range from a very low 4.1% in Sierra Madre to a high of 14.5% in Azusa.

Please note that these numbers are from the government and they may not add due to rounding. And, I have no idea how the city of Bradbury can have an employment base of 500 with all 500 employed and still achieve an unemployment rate of 8.1%! As they say, close enough for government work.

Monthly Labor Force Data - July 2010

CDP is “Census Designated Place” – a recognized community that was unincorporated at the time of the 2000 Census.

Source: California Economic Development Department

I was cruising around my old hometown of Altadena the other day and I see that El Patron is now open. This little building has had a few lives serving various types of food. I remember it most as a coffee shop (I can’t remember the name).

El Patron is located at the northwest corner of North Lake Avenue and Fontanet Way, a block east of the Altadena Sherriff’s station.They are open seven days a week from 9 AM to 9 PM. The menu includes tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and, if you dare, menudo on Saturday and Sunday. I love Mexican food, but I just can’t handle menudo.

I will definitely check out the burritos in my quest to find the best burritos around!