Business & Tech

Pacific Market Closes After Weeks Without Food Shipment

Shoppers throughout the day Sunday found only a sign notifying them of the closure.

The Rohnert Park Pacific Market is officially closed.

Rick Mohar, a head clerk with Pacific Market in Santa Rosa, confirmed the news Sunday morning. He said it's only the Rohnert Park branch that's closing.

A local manager working Sunday morning, who declined to give his name, said it's "been a while since we received a shipment."

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"It's tough enough to be here and have to go through what we have to go through. It's not easy to do," he said.

Vice Mayor Jake Mackenzie said he and his wife Barbara noticed the shelves going empty over the last couple weeks. 

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"I went over this morning to get some food, and found the doors locked with a notice on the door," Mackenzie said. 

That's a story that was repeated throughout the day on Sunday, as would-be shoppers approached the store, and left confused. 

"I'm really disappointed, this store been such a convenience for us," said Danny Guerrero, who lives in D Section. "We come here to grab dinner, and we can walk if we want to. Now we have to go all the way across town."

Tom Hoopler echoed Guerrero's feelings about the closure.

"This is such a bummer, I've been coming here since I was a kid when it was Roger Wilco," Hoopler said. "I wish they'd given us more notice."

"I've been coming here for 17 years — I think it's the state of the economy," said Dar Kennedy, who used to work at Pacific Market. "I was just in here yesterday and I asked how come the shelves are so bare, and they were all secretive about it. I wish they'd been more upfront."

Rohnert Park residents will have one less local store to choose from; and for people who live in the northern neighborhoods, the choice to walk or bike instead of drive will likely be harder.

"It's a real tragedy ... for those of us who live in northern Rohnert Park; it's bad for the environment, bad for economic reasons and it's going to have a detrimental effect on other businesses in Mountain Shadows Plaza," Mackenzie said. 

Local business owners say the aftermath of Pacific Market's closure hasn't materialized yet, as it just happened Sunday morning.

"I don't if it'll make that much of a difference," said Rich Quirk, co-owner of Big Daddy's Diner. "But people do sometimes stop here before or after they shop."

Yolanda Ramirez, the manager of Straw Hat Pizza, said she thinks it'll definitely take business away.

"It brings traffic," Ramirez said.

"I think it's going to be a big impact," said Lilly Merino, 23, who also works at Straw Hat. "And my family has been local buyers there since I was a kid."

As for alternatives, there are others such as Safeway and Raley's in Rohnert Park. But many shoppers on Sunday said they came to Pacific Market to support local businesses.

"Barbara and I felt Pacific Market was locally owned and it supported local producers. I'd rather shop in Rohnert Park but Oliver's is going to be a prime choice for me," he added.

The sign on the door Sunday read: "Effective Sunday, Feb. 20, the Rohnert Park Pacific Market is closed for business. We appreciate your patronage over the years. We hope you will continue to shop our Sebastopol and Santa Rosa locations."

Editor's note: With Pacific Market's closure, eight of the 22 storefronts in Mountain Shadows Plaza now sit empty. Read the story from our ongoing package about the city's vacant properties . 


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