Bristol Farms to Open at Alpha Beta Site

A new Bristol Farms supermarket--the first in the San Fernando Valley--will soon open at the site of the old Alpha Beta supermarket in the Topanga Erwin Plaza on Topanga Canyon Boulevard south of Victory Boulevard, company officials said Monday.

The gourmet supermarket, due to open Nov. 18, will offer a variety of departments featuring deli items, baked goods, meat, seafood, produce, wine and sushi. A restaurant and a cookware store--selling items ranging from linens to electronics--will round out the offerings.

City Councilwoman Laura Chick said she has mixed feelings about the impending arrival of Bristol Farms.

“On the one hand, I have a large population of senior citizens in the area who are losing an affordable, full-range supermarket, which represents a real hardship for them,” she said. “Having said that, I am familiar with the Bristol Farms operation and it is one of the best high-end, full-range specialty food stores that I think exist.”

The new Woodland Hills supermarket, which will be the fourth store in the Torrance-based chain, will generate sales tax revenues for the city and create 300 new jobs, Chick said.

Because the 30,000-square-foot store will go into space that has been used as a supermarket, Bristol Farms will not have to get special city permission or undergo a public hearing to move in.

The Alpha Beta supermarket closed July 30 as part of the merger of its chain with the Ralphs Grocery Co.

Since then, Bristol Farms has worked to refurbish the store. Other stores at the shopping center include C&R; Clothiers, Toys R Us, a beauty salon and a pizzeria.

Bristol Farms spokesperson Jodi Taylor said the new store will give Woodland Hills residents an opportunity to learn about many different kinds of foods.

“We take great pride in educating people about how to prepare food and how to buy the best,” she said. “They’ll get to taste a lot of foods that they might not have had the opportunity to taste before.”