Vons Closure in Vista Leaves Residents Traveling Farther for Fresh Food

The Vons on Santa Fe Drive in Vista closed on June 23, and the building is now boarded up. For many people who lived nearby and depended on it for groceries, getting fresh food has become a longer and harder trip.

Fredi Avalos and Mark Day lived less than five minutes from the store. Their drive for groceries has now tripled. "Being able to have a grocery store that is very close and accessible has always been important to us and that is why we are feeling the strong effects of now being forced to drive a considerable way to get fresh food," Avalos said.

Avalos said the closure did not surprise her, because the shopping center had begun to feel unsafe over the past couple of years. She said she was accosted on several occasions after getting out of her car and has not visited the center at night in at least five years. She added that others who shop or used to shop there feel the same way.

Asked about those concerns, Andrea McCullough, communications officer for the City of Vista, said the Vons Center is owned by about 12 different property owners. She said they are encouraged to contact the Vista Sheriff's station about any criminal activity.

KPBS asked Vons for an interview about the reason for the closure, but the company did not respond. Some employees spoke with the station but asked not to be recorded, fearing for their jobs. Some believed the store closed because of a rise in homelessness nearby and frequent thefts. Others pointed to the high cost of repairing the store's refrigeration system and to a lack of profit. Whatever the cause, the closure adds to a growing number of vacant stores in the center.

Avalos said she believes the Vista City Council has neglected this part of town while improving the downtown area. The city has worked hard to bring in new stores, restaurants and breweries, she said, which is not necessarily bad, "but we can't focus on one part of our community and turn our back on another part of our community." She said she and her husband are fortunate to be able to drive farther, but many others cannot. People may lack money for a ride service or relatives who can take them, she said, and she often saw low-income families carrying groceries home in the sun or rain.

Alexis White, 76, does not own a car but uses a motorized scooter. She lives in The Grove, a senior community across the street from the store, and said many neighbors relied on it. "It's making a hardship for a lot of people. I never knew that I would miss it," she said. She now travels to the WinCo in Oceanside, which she considers the cheapest option and reachable by bus or train.

Council member Corinna Contreras said food insecurity already affects many Vista residents and the loss of the store worsens it. She worried that nutrition quality would decline because the closest options are now a CVS or a 7-Eleven. "We can't survive off of fast food, convenience food. We're human beings and we need real food to grow," she said, adding that people also need a safe place to shop. She said the council needs to discuss the center's safety problems and how to give nearby residents access to fresh food.

The city has no information on what will replace Vons, Contreras said, because the property is being sold privately. McCullough's statement echoed that. The city does not own or manage the property, she said, and it is zoned commercial, so it can be sold to any buyer meeting those zoning requirements without city approval. Sellers and buyers are not required to share information with the city and have said only that the property is in escrow.