Bristol Farms Inc. is an upscale grocery store chain in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Founded in Los Angeles County, Bristol Farms operates fourteen stores, twelve in Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

, and one in San Francisco. The fourteenth store operates as Lazy Acres Market in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...

. After several changes in ownership over the years, the company is now once again privately-owned.

Early history

Bristol Farms opened its first store in 1982, in Rolling Hills Estates, California

Rolling Hills Estates, California

Rolling Hills Estates is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 8,067 at the 2010 census, up from 7,676 at the 2000 census....

, the company having been started by Irv Gronsky and Mike Burbank, who had worked together in the food industry for almost twenty years. Their vision was to combine the service and food quality of a corner grocer, butcher and baker with the theatre of Harrods

Harrods

Harrods is an upmarket department store located in Brompton Road in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. The Harrods brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the Harrods group of companies including Harrods Bank, Harrods Estates, Harrods Aviation and Air...

 in London. The first store was an overwhelming success.

The company added further stores in California. In June 1999, they acquired a famous landmark, Chalet Gourmet in Hollywood.

Owned by Albertsons

In 2004, Bristol Farms was purchased by Albertsons, Inc.

In October 2005, Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...

-based Lazy Acres

Lazy Acres

Lazy Acres Market Inc., based in Santa Barbara, California, United States, is a single grocery store for natural and organic foods, gourmet foods, supplements and body care products, as well as eco-friendly goods...

 was purchased by Bristol Farms. Many believe that the independently-owned single store Lazy Acres sold to Bristol Farms as a defensive move against Whole Foods' pending arrival into Santa Barbara. Ironically, Whole Foods has yet to open their store in Santa Barbara. While this is Bristol Farms' first and only location in Santa Barbara, the 28000 square feet (2,601.3 m²) Lazy Acres store itself continues operating under its original format. No mention of the name Bristol Farms is noted on any signage and/or advertisements at or within Lazy Acres. At the time Lazy Acres was acquired, Bristol Farms announced plans for more locations in the Santa Barbara area, but no additional locations have been built and/or opened.

In 2006, Bristol Farms opened its doors at the newly expanded Westfield San Francisco Centre

Westfield San Francisco Centre

Westfield San Francisco Centre is an upscale, urban shopping center located in San Francisco, California, managed by the Westfield Group and co-owned by Westfield and Forest City Enterprises. It is anchored by Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's, and includes a Century Theatres multiplex, a Bristol...

 in downtown San Francisco, becoming the first Bristol Farms in Northern California. The San Francisco site covers more than half the space of the Concourse Level in the lower level of the mall.

Three former Albertsons locations have been converted into Bristol Farms, one in the La Jolla section of the city of San Diego, California, the second location in Palm Desert, California which originally opened as Lucky, and the third location in the Westchester section of the city of Los Angeles, California.

Owned by SuperValu

On June 2, 2006, Bristol Farms' parent company, Albertsons, Inc., was purchased by investors led by Cerberus Capital Management

Cerberus Capital Management

Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is one of the largest private equity investment firms in the United States. The firm is based in New York City, and run by -year-old financier Steve Feinberg. Former U.S...

 and Supervalu, Inc

Supervalu (United States)

SuperValu Inc. is a United States grocery retailer and distributor. The corporation, headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, has been in business for over a century. It is the third-largest food retailing company in the United States , and ranks #51 on the Fortune 100 list.On June 2, 2006,...

., and upon closing of the transaction, Bristol Farms became a wholly owned subsidiary of SuperValu, Inc.

On November 12, 2008, Bristol Farms opened its seventeenth location. This 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²) location, which unlike many of Bristol Farms current locations, was built new from the ground up. The store is located in the Bridgeport Marketplace mixed-use shopping center within the Bridgeport residential neighborhood in Santa Clarita, California

Santa Clarita, California

Santa Clarita is the fourth largest city in Los Angeles County, California, United States and the twenty-fourth largest city in the state of California. The 2010 US Census reported the city's population grew 16.7% from the year 2000 to 176,320 residents. It is located about northwest of downtown...

. New features at this location are individual "shops" with full facades and themed props, a fresh juice and smoothie counter, a fresh sushi department with sushi made onsite every day, a coffee bar and an eat-in cafe. The wine area, with its four walls, wine racks and roof trellis, resembles a specialty wine boutique. Over 1500 sq ft (139.4 m²). of hand-painted murals painted by studio artists at D L English Design depict picturesque scenes of the Santa Clarita Valley throughout the store.

Independent again

On October 29, 2010, SuperValu announced that it had sold the Bristol Farms chain to a new company formed by a private investment firm, Endeavour Capital, and the chain's management team.

Current stores

• Rolling Hills
  Rolling Hills, California
  Rolling Hills is a city in the Palos Verdes Hills, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,860, down from 1,871 at the 2000 census...
  
  
• South Pasadena
  South Pasadena, California
  South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,619, up from 24,292 at the 2000 census. It is located in in the West San Gabriel Valley...
  
  
• Manhattan Beach
  Manhattan Beach, California
  Manhattan Beach is the wealthiest beachfront city located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, USA. The city is on the Pacific coast, south of El Segundo, and north of Hermosa Beach. Manhattan Beach is the home of both beach and indoor volleyball, and surfing. During the winter, the...
  
  
• Westchester
• Westlake Village
  Westlake Village, California
  Westlake Village is a planned community that straddles the Los Angeles and Ventura county line. The eastern portion is the incorporated city Westlake Village, located on the western edge of Los Angeles County, California. The city, located in the region known as the Conejo Valley, encompasses half...
  
  
• Long Beach
  Long Beach, California
  Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
  
  
• Newport Beach
  Newport Beach, California
  Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
  
  
• Hollywood
• Beverly West
  West Hollywood, California
  West Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...
  
  
• Westwood
  Westwood, California
  Westwood is a census-designated place in Lassen County, California, United States. Westwood is located west-southwest of Susanville, at an elevation of 5128 feet...
  
  
• La Jolla
• San Francisco
• Palm Desert
  Palm Desert, California
  Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census, up from 41,155 at the 2000 census...
  
  
• Santa Barbara
  Santa Barbara, California
  Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
  
   (the Lazy Acres store)

Former locations

• Woodland Hills
• Mission Viejo
  Mission Viejo, California
  Mission Viejo is a city located in southern Orange County, California, U.S. in the Saddleback Valley. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities ever built under a single project in the United States, and is rivaled only by Highlands Ranch, Colorado, in its size...
  
  
• Valencia
  Valencia, California
  Valencia is an affluent planned community located in the City of Santa Clarita, California and Los Angeles County, California, U.S. in the northwestern corner of the Santa Clarita Valley, adjacent to Interstate 5. In 1987, it was one of the four unincorporated communities that merged to create the...
  
  
• Redondo Beach
  Redondo Beach, California
  Redondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 66,748 at the 2010 census, up from 63,261 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area.Redondo Beach was originally part of...
  
  

The Mission Viejo store was closed in 2009, after 11 years operation. It had been plagued by being part of the Kaleidoscope Entertainment Center and faced declining year-to-year sales, partially brought about by the poor economic environment. The Kaleidoscope was criticized for its poor maintenance and unfavorable clientele. The Mission Viejo store officially closed on February 20, 2009.

The Valencia store was closed in 2009. Opened in late 2008, the store never generated heavy foot-traffic. The last scheduled day of operation was February 25, 2010.