Shoppers browse the new Mother’s Market and Kitchen at 2475 Cherry Ave. during its grand opening on Feb. 17.
Located at 2475 Cherry Ave., the market replaces the now-defunct Fresh & Easy market and will anchor the proposed Heritage Square retail-and-residential project proposed by landowner Signal Hill Petroleum.
The proposed Heritage Square site is south of Willow and bordered by Crescent Heights Street, Cherry Avenue, East Burnett Street and Gardena Avenue.
Melissa Guy of the Signal Hill Chamber of Commerce told the Signal Tribune at the Mother’s Market opening that specifics of the site plan were still being developed.
“This entire area will become essentially an outdoor mall [and] entertainment,” she said. “So this is the anchor. We don’t know what’s next. It’s only a proposal.”
Debra Montalvo Russell, vice president of community relations and real-estate operations for Signal Hill Petroleum, echoed Guy’s enthusiasm for the project.
“We are so excited to bring Mother’s Market to Signal Hill,” she said. “This is just the first of some really great things to happen in this area.”
The Signal Hill City Council had approved a resolution in June to extend Signal Hill Petroleum’s conditional-use permit to operate seven oil drills on the proposed Heritage Square site for one year to allow their continued operation while the City continued negotiating with the company on a land-development agreement.
Scott Charney, the City’s community development director, indicated he hoped to have a draft agreement by this summer.
A representative from Signal Hill Petroleum noted during the June council meeting that in the last 15 years, the company has been an integral part of the city’s development, stating that the company has paid about $10,000,000 in various fees and taxes, developed two major commercial centers— Town Center West (anchored by Food 4 Less) and Signal Hill Gateway (anchored by Home Depot and Ross)— and cleaned up land for 250 homes at the top of Signal Hill.
According to Colleen Doan, senior planner with the City of Signal Hill, the proposed Heritage Square site fits the City’s vision for a central business district, or “downtown.”
“The […] site is part of a larger vision established by the City’s General Plan since 2001,” she said at a Planning Commission meeting last August.
The central business district was originally envisioned to include specialty retail, public open space and residential development.
The Fresh & Easy market was constructed on the site in 2010, becoming an anchor tenant for the development, until its corporate office closed the store in 2016.
In 2017, Doan said, the City refined the Heritage Square vision in conjunction with Signal Hill Petroleum, which owns part of the land.
“The refined vision continued to incorporate specialty retail, view restaurants, open space and a high-density residential component, and very earth-toned materials, such as stone, wood, metal and glass,” Doan said.
At the planning meeting, Russell said that Signal Hill Petroleum had left the property vacant since Fresh & Easy closed in 2016 in order to ensure a right fit.
“Although we’ve had interest from other prospects, we have held out, without rent, to make sure that we bring the best use to our community, which we feel is Mother’s Market and Kitchen,” Russell said. “Bringing in a quality grocery store has been a top priority for our residents and visitors and businesses.”
Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Costa Mesa, Mother’s Market operates seven stores in Orange County in addition to the Signal Hill location. It offers organic produce and supplements, and it caters to specialized diets, such as vegan and gluten-free, according to its website.
The Signal Hill location features indoor and outdoor dining for the market’s prepared foods, as well as alcohol sales, which had been approved by the City Council in September.
A dozen members of the Mother’s Market corporate and operations teams were present on Saturday to initiate the store’s opening, along with the city’s Planning Commissioners and about 100 shoppers.
“It’s our pleasure to have our first L.A. store here in Signal Hill,” said Deborah Rubino, chief integration officer for Mother’s Market. “We have the best, freshest organic produce at unbeatable prices. […] We’re very proud of this store and its design.”
Erik Katz, manager of the Signal Hill store, received certificates commemorating the store’s opening from various government representatives, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony coordinated by Guy.
Herlinda Chico spoke on behalf of Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn in presenting a commemorative scroll.
“She’s so excited to have a store like Mother’s Market to be here in this community,” Chico said. “It’s so important that the community has access to fresh produce and to good food, and we were missing something here for a long time.”
Signal Hill Vice Mayor Tina Hansen also expressed her appreciation in presenting a proclamation on behalf of the City.
“We’re so excited to be the place that Mother’s Market chose to be the first store in Los Angeles County,” she said. “We’re really excited about this being the cornerstone for more development.”
Katz told the Signal Tribune that he had been store manager of the market’s Laguna Woods location for two-and-a-half years before coming to Signal Hill.
“We opened at 7[am] today, and we had a couple hundred people waiting outside, and we gave away gift cards for the first 100 people,” Katz said of Saturday’s opening. “It was quite a show this morning.”
“We’re just thrilled to be here,” another member of the Mother’s Market team said. “We belong here.”
