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Mar 23, 2023

Lake Tahoe grocery store closing after six decades

Screenshot of the Raley's in South Lake Tahoe's Heavenly Village via Google

Screenshot of the Raley's in South Lake Tahoe's Heavenly Village via Google Maps.

South Lake Tahoe skiers and hikers used to picking up their morning coffee and hiking snacks before checking into their Heavenly Village condos will have to come up with a new plan for summer hiking trips: Raley's Supermarkets announced that the Heavenly Village grocery store will close in early June.

The closure is the result of failed rent negotiations with the current landlord, Raley's Executive Director of Community Impact and Public Affairs Chelsea Minor told the Tahoe Daily Tribune. The closure will not impact the other Raley's store in South Lake Tahoe (near Emerald Bay) or the ones in Truckee and Incline Village.

The Heavenly Village Raley's store first opened more than 60 years ago, before the opening of Heavenly's high-speed gondola and before the resort spanned two states. When the store closes its doors in June, shoppers will have to drive to the Raley's location near Emerald Bay, roughly 5 miles west of Heavenly Village, to put their Raley's loyalty cards to use.

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"We’ve not reached a viable resolution and our lease will end in June 2023. We are currently working on a transition plan, with a primary focus on taking care of our team members," Minor told SFGate via email.

As no new tenant for the roughly 60,000-square-foot space has been announced, South Lake Tahoe residents and visitors will instead need to visit the region's other grocery stores, including two Grocery Outlets, a Whole Foods Market and a Safeway, in addition to several smaller, locally owned markets.

Responses from locals were mixed, with some lamenting the loss of convenience the store's closure will bring. "It was our go-to place for everything we needed in our hotel room," wrote one Facebook user in response to the news. "When we stay at our timeshare, we shop here (walking distance!) now what? [We] have to get in the car and drive somewhere else?" wrote another.

"I personally won't miss that store," another Facebook commenter wrote. "But the 20 deep lines at Safeway will be 30 deep after this store closes."