Long-awaited full-scale grocery store opens in Marin City
MARIN CITY, Calif. - A Marin City neighborhood, long grappling with a lack of full-service grocery stores, has some ease with the arrival of a new neighborhood market.
Grocery Outlet opened Thursday morning at the former site of a CVS pharmacy that closed three years ago. Residents had since faced limited grocery options.
The owners of the new Grocery Outlet franchise, Chantha Vath and Bruce Uy, originally from the South Bay, have parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Cambodia.
"We did a lot of community outreach. That's something we grew up on because our parents were first-generation immigrants. So what helped put food on the table for our families, both him and I, are the food pantries from the temples and churches," said Vath.
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The couple previously owned a Grocery Outlet franchise in Fairfield.
They noted the chain's commitment to community as a reason for joining.
"Helping feed families. Helping nonprofit farms and donating our unsellable produce, we have the autonomy to do so as independent operators," said Vath.
The first 100 customers visiting the store on Thursday will receive gift cards.
The neighborhood grocery store employs 35 people, many of whom live nearby and walk to work.