Market Bonanza, Pomona CA

Uh...California.

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luckysaver
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Market Bonanza, Pomona CA

Post by luckysaver »

At one point back in 2006, the corner of Garey Ave and Philadelphia Street/Rio Rancho Road in south Pomona (just north of the 60/71 Freeways) had 3 supermarkets. On the northeast corner is Food4Less Carniceria (Ralphs/Kroger, still operating), on the northwest next to Rite Aid is Cardenas (still operating), and on the southwest was Market Bonanza (closed in 2006, razed June 2008).

What is the history of these three sites (previous grocery operators)? Is it true that Market Bonanza was a 1940's/50's era Alpha Beta? (When I search the Alpha Beta locations in Pomona on LATimes Archives, the Willow St location usually shows up (across from Pomona Valley Hospital near the 10 Freeway, now Smart & Final/CVS Pharmacy).

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ps
According to the City of Pomona, Market Bonanza and its adjacent shopping strip was razed to make room for a school, possibly the expansion of Garey Village 9th Grade High School or some other school to be operated by the Pomona Unified School District, which is about a block away.
Jeff
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Re: Market Bonanza, Pomona CA

Post by Jeff »

The Cardenas was a former Price Club / Price Costco store. Most of the location is an indoor swap meet. This Price-Costco closed and moved when a larger facility opened in the mid 90's just south of the 60 on Peyton Dr in Chino Hills.
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runchadrun
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Re: Market Bonanza, Pomona CA

Post by runchadrun »

The Market Bonanza is a former Alpha Beta. I found it listed in several ads from 1961 and 1962.

2090 S. Garey, which is now Food4Less, was a Pier 1 as of 1969 and it appeared in Pier 1 ads until 1975.
luckysaver
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Re: Market Bonanza, Pomona CA

Post by luckysaver »

Chad,

I've seen the old Pier 1 ads in the Times Archives when I searched the F4L address. That address referred to 2090 North Garey Ave Pomona, which is somewhere between I-10 and Foothill Blvd. (1700 block is the hospital). 2090 South Garey is at Philadelphia St near 60/71, where Food4Less now faces Cardenas.

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Re: Market Bonanza, Pomona CA

Post by runchadrun »

luckysaver wrote:That address referred to 2090 North Garey Ave Pomona, which is somewhere between I-10 and Foothill Blvd. (1700 block is the hospital).luckysaver
Gotcha. The north address comes up as M&I Surplus but it also has the distinct look of a former supermarket. In 1956 a Walker's Market opened at the intersection of Garey and La Verne on a 6-acre site so that could very possibly be the Pier 1.

How strange to have markets at the same address on both the north and south parts of a street.
scanman2
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Re: Market Bonanza, Pomona CA

Post by scanman2 »

I was thinking that was the Old Alpha Beta #1 I have seen referenced to in Pomona?
luckysaver
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Re: Market Bonanza, Pomona CA

Post by luckysaver »

Old AB 1 is somewhere near Western University of Health Sciences (former eastern block of the 1950's era Pomona Mall) in the historic downtown section of Pomona. In the ancient days of grocery retailing in Southern California, the shops were simply small corner stores of existing multi-use buildings and the old photos portrayed a U shape counter with some of the merchandise in the back shelves and maybe a few carts of self-serve items. Customers generally asked the shopkeeper/clerk (called the Grocer) for the items. Self-serve markets (and the evolution of the modern supermarket) came sometime in the late 1920's.

Later incarnations of Alpha Beta within the City of Pomona included the Bonanza site, the current Smart & Final/CVS across from Pomona Valley Hospital, and the current Jimenez Ranch Market on Indian Hill Blvd.

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borderhacker
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Re: Market Bonanza, Pomona CA

Post by borderhacker »

The South Garey store address was 2109 S Garey Ave. It was part of a small shopping center that included a Cornet variety store, a barber shop, etc. Sharing the parking lot was the Pom Lanes bowling alley and a Tastee Freez burger stand.

That whole property is vacant land now, I think a soccer club recently opened on what was the bowling alley.

One memory of the South Garey Alpha Beta (early 1960s?) is that around Christmas time they would have an organist playing holiday music for the shoppers and you could request your favorite Christmas carol.
Last edited by borderhacker on 19 Jun 2020 01:11, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Market Bonanza, Pomona CA

Post by borderhacker »

There was also an Alpha Beta at "Five Points" in Pomona, which today would be on Fairplex Drive (then Ganesha Blvd) between Holt and Orange Grove. (Not the same as the El Monte "Five Points" store) and one at 360 E Mission Blvd (then Fifth Street) which later became a Hamilton Drug store and is now an L.A. County DPSS welfare office, still the same original building.
luckysaver
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Re: Market Bonanza, Pomona CA

Post by luckysaver »

borderhacker wrote: 19 Jun 2020 00:58 The South Garey store address was 2109 S Garey Ave. It was part of a small shopping center that included a Cornet variety store, a barber shop, etc. Sharing the parking lot was the Pom Lanes bowling alley and a Tastee Freez burger stand.

That whole property is vacant land now, I think a soccer club recently opened on what was the bowling alley.

One memory of the South Garey Alpha Beta (early 1960s?) is that around Christmas time they would have an organist playing holiday music for the shoppers and you could request your favorite Christmas carol.
The landowner/landlord of the Market Bonanza site coincidentally has the same last name as me but we're not related, as I found some documents a few years ago on the City of Pomona's website regarding the landowner's construction applications for 2109 S Garey. I remember seeing the old pylon sign on the vacant lot the first time I drove through the area many years ago and at the time was very similar to another ex-Alpha Beta/F.A.D site in Rubidoux on Mission Blvd where the old pylon sign sat on a vacant lot after the market building was demolished. "GOALS Soccer Center" is the new occupant of the site but the space that was Bonanza is still a vacant lot the last time I drove by. The soccer club caters primarily to the latino youth that live in the area and part of an effort by the City of Pomona to help revitalize that part of town (A boxing club is in one of those old office buildings across the street - that 3-building office complex has been up for sale for many years and only a small portion of it is leased by the local school district)

Further south is the almost desolate Marketplace , currently occupied by Home Depot, DaVita Dialysis, World Oil (former Shell with a Subway), and a laser tag park (former Circuit City). If the city wants to continue to revitalize that part of town, they should try to lure a low-cost supermarket into the area that would be great for the community such as Grocery Outlet, Aldi, or Amazon Fresh to move in to the long-vacant OfficeMax space.
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