Changes At Westlake Follow Community Meeting

They came to lend moral support, give valuable community feedback and send a strong message that the West Davis community was not going to let their store go without at least a valiant fight.

He told the crowd that they need to generate more foot traffic through the store, and in addition, to get those individuals who shop to spend a few more dollars on each visit.

“But to do that we need to know what we are lacking as a grocery store,” Mr. DeLano said on Wednesday night.  “We are hoping some constructive criticism will come out of this.”

Westlake owners and managers apparently got what they were looking for.  They had an early 30% bump in sales and are now reopening the deli, one of the more popular features that had closed, due in part to the flagging sales.

Owner Dennis DeLano noted during the meeting that, due to the lack of the foot traffic, they could not keep the food fresh in the deli.  He had heard that a huge concern about previous stores was the lack of fresh food, and did not want to see that happen here.

As he put it, he “didn’t want to be that store.”  He promised that if they get the foot traffic up, they will bring back the deli.

Eric Nelson, a community liaison for Westlake IGA, writes in an op-ed today, “The deli was a prevalent element in the discussion. Many see this as a key component to their shopping experience. Dennis DeLano (owner/partner) indicated that with the sales volume the store was experiencing, the deli was a resource drain because there was not enough activity to keep the product fresh and cover the labor cost.”

He wrote, “The deli will be back, better than ever, within the next couple weeks and the barbecue will be fired up!”

One of the big issues that came up during the meeting, and in discussions on the Vanguard, is the cost issue.

Writes Mr. Nelson, “During the rally, the ‘pricing’ issue was thoroughly covered. Most of the people in attendance are Westlake IGA ‘regulars’ who do some of their shopping at Westlake competitors and have found that Westlake’s prices are on par with other conventional grocery stores in town.”

At the “rally” one of the residents noted that when they compared costs to the Food Co-op they found that it was similarly priced.  Thus, they believe the problem is mainly perception.

Writes Mr. Nelson: “Jeff Zunich, Westlake store manager and buyer, said Westlake continually ‘shops’ the competition to ensure that its prices are competitive. A couple of the neighbors attending the meeting had done their own comparison shopping and found their savings at Westlake were comparable to other conventional grocery retailers in town.”

He continued, “The overall consensus is that Westlake has a pricing perception problem, with many saying that if you are shopping for a specific item or doing a ‘convenience store drive-by’ and find your one item to be higher in price, then the perception is that all the prices in the store are higher. But if you do a general grocery shopping, you will find the average cost is comparable.”

Eric Nelson added, “The DeLanos are the first to admit that the non-grocery items like toilet paper, paper towels, pet food, cleaning products, disposable diapers, etc., are cheaper at the big-box stores (Target, Costco, Walmart) but they carry a limited selection to cover the ’emergencies.’ “

“The biggest reason given for shopping at Westlake was the friendliness and responsiveness of the Westlake IGA store personnel,” Eric Nelson wrote. “They know all the ‘regulars’ by name without having to look at your check or card! And they will go out of their way to get that special item for you … just ask Scott or Jeff, the managers.”

One neighbor at the meeting remarked that she never found a store that was more responsive to carrying items that are requested.  Therefore, people need to become aware that if they simply request an item, IGA will carry it.

Eric Nelson enumerates a number of reason to shop at IGA:

* Convenience;

* Reduces environmental impacts;

* Reduces auto expense;

* Creates a “community” nucleus and meeting place;

* Provides employment for local residents and students;

* Provides a sales opportunity for local growers and producers;

* Provides added value to the homeowners’ property;

* Gives college students a 5 percent discount and accepts Aggie Cash (no other grocery does);

* Gives senior citizens a 5 percent discount on Tuesdays and Saturdays;

* Supports the Davis Schools Foundation, parent-teacher organizations, Cub Scouts, school clubs and the Aggie Band-uh with donations and fundraising events; and

* Parents are comfortable sending their kids to the neighborhood grocery on an errand.

As we noted, the returns from that June meeting were very positive and it seems to have renewed the commitment of the West Davis neighborhood to keep their store.  But it will take a long and sustained effort to do so.

—David M. Greenwald