WATSONVILLE — Three years after its shuttering, the former Kmart building on Freedom Boulevard may see new life as a supermarket with an on-site taproom. Before it can do so, a pair of Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control licenses will need to be approved, and they will be going before the Watsonville Planning Commission Tuesday.
Vallarta Supermarket, a Los Angeles-based grocery chain with stores throughout Southern California, is planning to open a store at 1702 Freedom Blvd., which had previously been occupied by Kmart from 1993 until 2021 as the once dominant discount department store chain began closing its remaining California stores. In December, the Community Development Department issued a building permit to allow tenant improvements within the vacant building, and in March, the department approved a zoning clearance to allow the establishment of a Vallarta Supermarket.
Vallarta was founded in 1985 and sells an array of groceries with an emphasis on serving Hispanic populations, including by selling items not often found in most supermarkets. The chain mostly operates in Southern California but has been moving north by opening locations in Tulare, Fresno, Madera and Monterey counties, including a store in Salinas that also opened in a former Kmart.
In addition to its groceries, Vallarta stores also feature bakeries, candy stores and on-site Mexican restaurants known as La Cocina. One of its newest features — originating out of its Indio location and being incorporated into newer stores — is a taproom called Sayulita Tap Room. These restaurants offer a full menu of Central American dishes as well as a selection of beer, wine and distilled spirits.
Because the Watsonville store will be selling alcohol in its supermarket and at Sayulita, the store will need to have Type 21 and 47 licenses approved. Type 21 licenses allow businesses to sell alcohol for off-site consumption, and Type 47 licenses allow for alcohol to be sold for on-site consumption.
According to a staff report by Community Development Director Suzi Merriam and Associate Planner Ivan Carmona, the project is required to have security cameras, which will be reviewed by the Watsonville Police Department before a certificate of occupancy is issued. The proposed hours for the market are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, while the proposed taproom hours are 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sundays.
Alcohol licenses are required to be monitored by the police department to ensure the licenses comply with state regulations, would not contribute to high crime and are not in areas with an over-concentration of licenses of the same type. Merriam and Carmona wrote that the proposed location is not considered a high crime area and that three alcohol licenses are currently in place in the same shopping center. Both the Walgreens and Shell station convenience store have Type 20 licenses while Taqueria Mi Tierra has a Type 41 license. However, Taqueria Mi Tierra will be closing to make way for a new Starbucks approved by the Planning Commission, making Vallarta the only business with a Type 41 license.
“Based on the facts listed above, the establishment of a new ABC Type 21 off-sale license for Vallarta Supermarket and a new ABC Type 47 on-sale license for Sayulita Tap Room is supported by the Watsonville Police Department,” Merriam and Cardona wrote. “The two new licenses will bring the total number of ABC licenses in the census tract to 4, which does not constitute an over- concentration. Therefore, the project does not require a Letter of Public Convenience and Necessity.”
In addition to beer and wine, Vallarta will be selling distilled spirits such as whiskey, vodka and tequila in its main store, but they will be in a locked cabinet near the front of the store and will only be given to customers who show identification verifying they are 21 or older.
The alcohol license application received high marks in its selection committee review process in March, and the commission will need to determine that the special use permit is supported by findings in the Watsonville Municipal Code. Staff is recommending the commission approve the permit.
In other business, the commission will consider a Master Sign Program for 950 and 1052 E. Lake Ave. and recommend the City Council adopt the city’s 2024-25 Capital Improvement Program.
The commission will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Council Chambers on the top floor of the Watsonville Civic Plaza, 275 Main St., Watsonville.