Santa Monica Pico Area Gets Its Supermarket

After years of lobbying city officials and overcoming two lawsuits, the residents of Santa Monica’s Pico neighborhood celebrated the opening of a full-service supermarket this week.

Since a Thrifty market closed 10 years ago, residents have gone without a supermarket within walking distance. The opening Thursday of the $7-million, 45,000-square-foot Ralphs is the first step in long-needed improvements for the mostly low-income neighborhood, residents said.

“Certainly a supermarket being close to your house is an urban amenity that most people expect,” said Peter Tigler, vice chairman of the Pico Neighborhood Assn. “Neighborhoods that thrive and are desirable all have state-of-the-art supermarkets.”

Before the market could be built, developers had to contend with two lawsuits. One, filed by a nearby neighborhood association and later withdrawn, argued that the market would create too much traffic. The second, filed by the owner of an adjacent development, charged that the store violated the appropriate use regulations for the site. It was dismissed by the court.

Other plans for the neighborhood include the city-funded $1.1-million expansion of Virginia Park and $3.1 million in street improvements for Pico Boulevard.