Renderings courtesy of Peltrossi & Associates, Inc.
There is no nice way of putting it: the now-defunct Big Lots and its adjacent parking lot has been an eye-sore for Rose Park citizens.
The owner of that property seems to agree, ultimately deciding to not renew the lease of Big Lots and instead install its own grocery store–Big Saver Foods–to expand upon its 14 current locations throughout Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties. In addition, a Wells Fargo branch will be built on the east side of the renovated building.
The first iteration proposed by Big Save Foods Inc., owned by Uka Solanki, echoed a pseudo-contemporary-Spanish aesthetic some felt was off-character for Long Beach. It featured three centered arches capped with decorative sconces, wood plank awnings and decorative checkered tiles, all covered in a bath of neutral-light earth tones.
The first–and ultimately rejected–iteration of the property design
However, after much consultation with the East 7th Street Corridor Coalition, 2nd District Councilmember Suja Lowenthal’s office, and JMS Design, the grocer has opted to keep the building’s midcentury-modern sloped roofline–the only one left in the city after the Vons along Broadway was demolished to make way for the current megamarket–and go for a contemporary, clean feel.
Clean lines, dark multi-hued woods, and a sleek, almost ground-to-ceiling glass entrance highlight the final iteration of the project proposed by Newport Beach-based design firm Peltrossi & Associates, Inc.
Given the shutdown of Top Valu near 6th and Redondo, the grocer is a needed entity within the neighborhood. Big Saver Foods, established in 1973, currently has two locations in Long Beach, one uptown on Artesia and another on the Westside on Willow.
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