California grocer headed to Richland. The company just raised $400M on Wall Street

A California grocery chain that raised $400 million with an initial public offering last month is headed to Richland’s Queensgate Drive.

Construction begins in about a month on the last major development site at Vintner Square.

Discount grocer Grocery Outlet will join the Target-anchored shopping center about five months later. Its city building permit application indicated a construction value of $1.65 million.

Grocery Outlet, based in Emeryville, Calif., is an extreme value retailer with stores near downtown Kennewick and on Road 68 in Pasco.

The company debuted on the NASDAQ in June, trading under the symbol “GO.”

Forbes magazine marked the IPO by calling Grocery Outlet the “T.J. Maxx of grocery stores,” referencing its “significant” discounts below prices charged by conventional retailers.

The company and its local owner/operators have more than 320 stores, chiefly in the western U.S., including Kennewick and Pasco.

With Grocery Outlet in the mix, Vintner Square has just one development site available, a small pad near Duportail and Kennedy, said Jim Stevens, development director for Browman Development Co., the center’s Walnut Creek, Calif.-based owner.

Grocery stores draw customers

Shopping center owners like grocery stores because customers shop them more frequently and bring more customer traffic to a complex.

“It’s a daily needs offering. It supports the neighborhood and brings customers,” Stevens said.

Browman, through a local limited partnership, applied for a permit to build an 18,000-square-foot building at 2901 Queensgate.

Grocery Outlet will be next to Party City.

The city of Richland has reviewed the application and sent it back to Browman with comments. The city is waiting for it to be resubmitted.

Grocery Outlets carry a full range of grocery items along with health and beauty care and seasonal merchandise.

Grocery Outlet planned to use proceeds generated by the IPO to pay down debt.

This story was originally published July 30, 2019 at 11:26 AM.