Save Mart owners disappointed to see lease terminated, looking for new locations
TAHOE CITY, Calif.— After proudly operating in Tahoe City for over five decades, it was announced by Save Mart that their store in the area would be closing due to the termination of the lease for the current space with the landlord.
“We are deeply disappointed,” said Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for Save Mart Donovan Ford. “The landlord has been unreceptive to our proposals, including lease renewal and purchase.”
The decision came as a shock to the Save Mart team, who has been serving the community for years.
“We want our store associates and shoppers to know that we want nothing more than to stay,” said Donovan. “It has always been our intent to stay in this location and continue to serve this community. We hoped for a different outcome, no doubt. We remain committed to the Tahoe City community and to our dedicated store associates, and we are actively exploring other locations.”
Save Mart was known for providing the community with fresh, competitively priced products daily. In the past five years, Save Mart has invested over $2.2 million in capital improvements in the Tahoe City store.
In addition, Save Mart was able to support the Tahoe Lake Elementary School’s numerous youth sports over the years, along with the North Tahoe High School Football team, North Tahoe Girls Soccer Team, and North Tahoe Little League.
Ford explained that Save Mart associates currently at the Tahoe City store will continue to serve the community until the store closes on Wednesday, Oct. 18. Following the closure, associates will be offered positions at other Save Mart stores in the area.
“Our number one priority is our people,” said Ford. “I can assure you.. every single one of them will be taken care of with finding a place that works for them, as well as our company.”
Ford personally met with the owners of the property two different times to attempt to save the lease, but was unsuccessful. He is unsure what will be put in place of the store.
The team will continue to look for new places for the Save Mart store in order to continue to serve the community.
Miranda Jacobson is a reporter for the Tahoe Daily Tribune, a sister publication of the Sun. She may be reached at mjacobson@tahoedailytribune.com.
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