Jurgensen’s Shuts Down Its Beverly Hills Store : Retailing: The gourmet chain, which once had 22 outlets, is now down to 3. It says it wants to focus on building a headquarters operation in Pasadena.

Jurgensen’s, the upscale gourmet grocery chain whose stores were a fixture in many tony neighborhoods throughout California, has closed its Beverly Hills store to concentrate its energy and capital on building a Pasadena headquarters store, company officials said Tuesday.

“The sales in Pasadena have tripled in the last three years, while the Beverly Hills sales were way off what we expected,” said Kenneth McCormick, chairman of Ojai Capital, the partnership that owns the Jurgensen’s markets.

The Beverly Hills store, which closed Saturday, sold mostly wine and gift items. It was located on Beverly Drive in an area filled with competitors, including Williams-Sonoma.

Jurgensen’s is down to three stores, including a small outlet store in the private Jonathan Club in downtown Los Angeles, from 22 in its heyday.

McCormick said the decision to close the small Beverly Hills store was based in part on the current economic slump and a desire to focus the company’s resources on building a $13-million, 52,000-square-foot Pasadena store.

Negotiations with one foreign bank ended recently, but McCormick said “we are on third base and headed toward home with a new construction lender,” which he declined to identify.

Long known for its impeccable, personalized service and home delivery, McCormick said he wants Jurgensen’s to maintain those qualities, while catering to the tastes and needs of younger shoppers in the 1990s. For example, the new store will feature a cafe, cappuccino bar and sushi bar in addition to the traditional produce, deli and grocery sections.

McCormick, who purchased the ailing company in January, 1988, said one of Jurgensen’s goals is to serve busy, two-career families who have scant time to cook and shop. In recent months, Lucky’s has followed Jurgensen’s example and begun offering home delivery service to shoppers.

In 1935, Harold S. Jurgensen opened his first store on California Boulevard. In the early days, Jurgensen’s catered to wealthy families and celebrities who preferred to have their gourmet delicacies and groceries delivered.

In the mid-1980s, the company, then publicly held, began losing money due to stiff competition and changing shopping habits. In many areas, Irvine Ranch and Gelson’s markets competed directly with the smaller Jurgensen’s locations.

In 1986, a few months before Harold Jurgensen’s death, the company merged with Yucaipa Capital Corp., formed by a group of Riverside investors, which sold off several stores.