Long Beach : Investigation Asked in Grocery Store Closures

The City Council, concerned over the closure of three Vons supermarkets in Long Beach last March, is asking the state attorney general to investigate whether the grocery store chain unfairly restricted trade with the closures.

The city has complained that the closures came with little or no notice to city staff or residents, and that the chain has since subleased two of the sites, at 7th Street and Junipero Avenue and at Bellflower Boulevard and Stearns Street, to non-food enterprises. It appears that Vons is preparing to sublease the third site, at 4th Street and Pacific Avenue, to another grocery chain.

The council also authorized the city attorney’s office to file a brief in a lawsuit that has been filed against Vons by the owner of one of the former supermarket sites.