Mother’s Market partners with investment firm to help advance growth

Costa-Mesa based organic supermarket Mother’s Market & Kitchen announced this week that it has partnered with an East Coast private equity firm in an effort to continue expanding its business.

Connecticut-based Mill Road Capital, which owns Rubio’s Restaurants Inc., invested an undisclosed amount in Mother’s Market and now holds three of the seven seats on its board of directors.

Mill Road Capital often partners with socially conscious and environmentally sustainable businesses, according to a news release.

It isn’t clear when or where Mother’s Market plans to expand.

Mother’s Market & Kitchen was started in Costa Mesa in 1978 by a group of friends and family members who practiced yoga together. Bruce Macgurn, who was chief executive of the business before his death in November, and the other founding members began the market as a way to provide vegetarian food and other products that weren’t readily available at other stores.

Many of the founders are still owners and will continue to lead the business, according to a company statement.

“Macgurn was instrumental in the process of selecting a partner who would shepherd Mother’s into the future,” the statement reads. “He was excited about the prospect of more stores and the opportunities this would bring to employees and the healthy options for customers.”

What began as a single shop in Costa Mesa has grown into a brand with seven locations across Orange County serving more than 50,000 people per week, according to the market’s website.

In 2010, Mother’s Market moved its flagship Costa Mesa store from 17th Street to a larger location at Newport Boulevard and 19th Street.

“It is business as usual at Mother’s Market & Kitchen,” Deborah Rubino, chief integration officer, said in a statement. “Our goal is to deliver the highest-quality natural food products at the best possible prices in a friendly, warm and inviting environment. All our employees and leadership team members are committed to delivering on the mission statement from the founding members in 1978: truth, beauty and goodness.”