Stater Bros. Gets on Fix-Up Bandwagon

Stater Bros. Markets is sinking $3 million into remodeling three stores in Orange County.

Currently getting an overhaul are the Santa Ana store on East McFadden Avenue, the Garden Grove outlet on Chapman Avenue and the Westminster market on Brookhurst Avenue. The stores will get new produce, deli and frozen food sections, as well as new floors, ceilings, check stands and paint.

“One million dollars gives you almost a brand-new store on the interior,” Chief Executive Jack H. Brown said. The stores are open while construction is underway.

The Santa Ana project was at first supposed to be more of a touch-up, involving a paint job and other relatively superficial improvements. But Stater Bros. was inspired to do more when it learned that the 34-year-old store is in the city’s “empowerment zone,” Brown said. That designation by the federal government means the city will get $10 million a year for the next 10 years to improve poor neighborhoods.

“We’ve been a part of Santa Ana for about 40 years,” Brown said. “It was a good time for us to get on the bandwagon.”

Colton-based Stater Bros. has 16 stores in Orange County.