New Ralphs grocery store in Sherman Oaks

Finally! Grand Opening is Thursday April 10th! It's been a long time coming but I'm sure everyone is happy that opening day is just around the corner

So many of us have seen our Ralphs on the corner of Ventura Blvd and Hazeltine taken down to make room for the new Fresh Fare Ralphs.  The original Ralphs was rebuilt after the 1994 earthquake but now it's time for a larger and more updated grocery store in this side of Sherman Oaks. Some of our neighbors are happy about this and others thought that it wasn't necessary. One thing is for sure though, and that is that the construction near this intersection can be a hassle for those of us that use this route to get to and from home on a daily basis. Not only do we have a new and improved grocery store coming in, but there is also a new, very large complex being built on the same side of Ventura just one block West. This complex and the construction around it, isn't helping the commuting traffic either.  But, we always seem to have a road or building being worked on around here and this is nothing new for us to see.  But when the Ralph's is completed, which the Sherman Oaks home owners association thinks that this should be in the summer of 2013, it will indeed be bigger and better. It was cover over 65,000 square feet of interior space. There will be underground parking with the street level of the complex to include shops that will be accessible by Ventura blvd. The Ralph's grocery store itself boasts that it will have a very large produce section, a deli that will be competitive to any other in the area, and a full bakery that should test all of us that are on diets. So that is the skinny that I have on our local grocery store and I will keep you posted on all things real estate and neighborhood related.

Update: As things are moving along for this new grocery store, we now know that the summer 2013 is not going to be the opening date (since that has come and gone) but it looks like we will see the doors open here in the fall. I'm curious to see how it will effect traffic since it looks like there are only entrances on Hazeltine and Moorpark. But on the other hand, I'm excited to not have to drive all the way to the Ralphs in Studio City if I need a large selection of things.
2nd Update as of January 2014:  Well, it looks like someone's prediction for this store opening was a long shot. We first heard of the opening in Summer of 2013 and here we are in January 2014 and it still looks like it has some work to be done before opening. Luckily the construction isn't causing too much traffic hassle, but maybe we are so used to what we have been dealing with on Coldwater for so long that any other construction seems to pale in comparison. I spoke with someone at the Sherman Oaks neighborhood council and they said the projected opening date is now March...I guess we will wait and see.