As escrow continues for the largest block of commercial real estate in Pacific Palisades—the 2.77-acre property located along Swarthmore and on Sunset—we asked our readers via our Facebook page one simple question: “Would you support a Trader Joe’s in the Palisades?”
The response was overwhelming, drawing in more than 90 comments, and 300-plus likes, to a question that is not without merit. Months ago, sources close to the sale told the Palisadian-Post that prominent developer Rick Caruso, who is currently in the process of buying the portfolio from Palisades Properties, might be planning to build a Trader Joe’s in the area.
Surprisingly, given the town’s history of opposing major developments, only 13 percent of those who commented opposed the idea of a Trader Joe’s in the Palisades. (Keep in mind, this simple Facebook post was read by nearly 6,000 individuals.)
Here is what several Facebook responders had to say:
“I’ve wanted it for years! It’s my favorite’s store,” wrote Robin Ashby. “If you buy 10 of the same things, or similar, at Ralphs and at Trader Joe’s you wouldn’t believe the price difference.”
Dena Van Atta wrote, “Nope [to a Trader Joe’s]… The Palisades has gotten too over-commercialized. I used to love my hometown, but then the Hollyweird crowd had to come and mess it up.”
Daniel John liked the idea but wrote, “Don’t just add another store; replace the Gelson’s or Von’s or Ralphs. We don’t any need more buildings going up…” (Actually, a Trader Joe’s would replace existing, mostly empty buildings on Sunset, adjacent to the Mobil station.)
Kim Behrendt wrote, “Now that I think of it, they are probably the only ones that can afford to pay the outrageous landlords on Swarthmore, so put it there and bring it back to life.”
Other commenters were more reserved in their support. “It would be great depending on location and parking,” Ken Serra wrote. (The current outdoor parking lot, accessed by the alley between Swarthmore and Monument, could provide the necessary expanded space for parking.)
The idea of a Trader Joe’s in the Palisades certainly makes historical sense, considering that the famous tropical-themed chain got its start right here on Marquez Avenue. Opening on Memorial Day weekend in 1958, Pronto Market was started by Joe Coulombe (Trader Joe himself) at the corner of Marquez Avenue and Bollinger.
The 2,500-sq.-ft. market was open from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. seven days a week, offering “quick and easy shopping,” stated the 1958 advertisement that ran in the Post.
Pronto’s success in Marquez led Coulombe to open six more stores over the next four years. However, about 1965, the nature of the grocery business started to change. Supermarkets began expanding their hours, selling liquor and staying open on Sunday, and another convenience store (7-Eleven) was also competing with Pronto, which specialized in wine and beer sales.
Dissatisfied with the Pronto model, Coulombe decided to reinvent the chain as a place that catered to patrons who are “over educated and lower paid,” he told an interviewer. The idea came to him after reading a 1970 Scientific American article about how more people were graduating from college than ever before.
“Basically, [the first Trader Joe’s] was a Pronto market grown three times larger with the world’s largest assortment of alcohol,” Coulombe said in a video interview with Entrepreneur Online.
Don Haselkorn, who still owns property on the Marquez Avenue commercial strip, said Pronto was a popular spot with locals, but he wasn’t sure when it closed. Historical photos indicate that at least by 1969, Pronto Market was no longer around. The first Trader Joe’s opened in Pasadena in 1967.
Ronny Naidoo, former owner of Ronny’s Market, said that Marquez Place Market replaced Pronto. He actually worked for this second market, which closed in 2003, before purchasing the Marquez Liquor Store and changing its name to Ronny’s. The Pronto space was taken over by The IDEAS Studio in 2006, and is now occupied by TLC Beauty Salon.
According to Coulombe, Trader Joe’s target demographic is a highly educated and lower paid customer, who is into healthy foods: the “journalist, classical musician and museum curator.”
The irony is that today’s Palisadians seem to more than ever fit into the demographic that now frequents Trader Joe’s: highly educated and… well, into healthy food. Whether or not Rick Caruso will open such a market here in town is speculative, but whatever he decides to do, his plans will have to conform to the Palisades Commercial Village and Neighborhoods Specific Plan, which sets guidelines on building heights, usages, and other requirements.
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