By Nick Diamantides, Special to the Signal Tribune
More than 10,000 people visited Signal Hill’s Target store during the July 29 grand opening. After seven months of being closed for remodeling the store on 33rd Street at Atlantic Avenue reopened its doors on July 24th and, even before the official grand opening, it was a big hit with local shoppers.
One of them was Signal Hill Mayor Tina Hansen who went there on Saturday. “I just spent over $300 here, and I am thrilled to see one of my favorite stores back in business again,” she said. “Now with its grocery department and state-of-the-art cash registers it’s even better than it was before; there’s just nothing like it anywhere in this area.”
George Cabezas, store team leader, seemed to share Hansen’s enthusiasm. “We put a lot of effort into making this a store that meets the needs of the people in the surrounding communities, and I’m very pleased with the way everything has come together,” he said.
One of the biggest new features is the grocery department. “Before, the store just had two coolers with milk and other beverages,” Cabezas said. “Now it has everything you would find in a grocery store except fresh meat and produce.” To make room for that, the store no longer has a garden department. “With a Home Depot just a few blocks away, our guests don’t need a garden department in this store,” he noted. “But being able to purchase grocery items is a great convenience.”
There’s also something coffee lovers will appreciate: a Starbucks. “We know that many of our guests enjoy a good cup of coffee or some other beverage and we thought having a Starbucks right inside the store would be a great way to provide that opportunity to them,” Cabezas added.
Other improvements include an expanded pharmacy, signs in English and Spanish, as well as cash registers with faster scanners and flat-screen monitors
Market studies indicate that the store will do 20 to 25 percent more in sales than it did prior to the remodel.
Meanwhile, selected items throughout the store are priced at less than wholesale, and those low prices will remain in effect for the next few weeks.
“We’re very happy to be back as part of this community,” Cabezas said. “We look forward to providing great service to our guests, doing good business and being a good corporate citizen that provides assistance to schools and nonprofit organizations.”
Signal Hill Finance Director Dennis McArthur noted that the store plays a major role in the city’s economy. “It’s one of the top 20 sales tax revenue producers, and studies indicate the revenues it generates for the city will increase by double digits now that it has been remodeled,” he said. “We’re very happy to see them back in business.”
