Longtime Carson grocery store closing

The Sak 'N Save on U.S. Highway 50 E., formerly Scolari's, will close on May 30, the Sparks-based company has confirmed.

About 40 employees work at the longtime Carson City grocery store and "a number" may be offered positions at nearby stores in the region, said Ward Dunn, the vice president of marketing for Scolari's Food and Drug Company, which owns Sak 'N Save.

"Based on a number of factors, it didn't make sense to continue operations at that location, and we'll do our best to keep as many associates as possible," said Joe Scolari, CEO of the grocery store chain.

After about 35 years in business, the store re-branded into a Sak 'N Save in October 2008 in an attempt to cope with the weakening local economy, Dunn said. Sak 'N Saves generally have fewer options and lower prices than Scolari's.

"It's a sad thing that we have to do," Dunn said. "We also know that it's a healthier situation for the rest of our chain."

The company runs 18 other stores in Nevada and California.

The 40,000-square-foot retail space may get some modernization as a result of the vacancy, said Kathy Hone of the Hone Company, a Minden-based real estate company that owns the shopping center.

"We're looking at this as an opportunity," said Hone, who learned about the closure Friday. "We're very sorry to see Sak 'N Save go, they've been there many years. They're a good member of the community."

Terry Potter, a retiree living in Carson City, said he was disappointed to hear the news on Monday while loading groceries into the bed of his pickup truck after shopping at the Sak 'N Save.

"When they closed Lucky over here and moved Longs and moved all of that stuff I started shopping over here," Potter said. "Prices are extremely competitive to anyplace else that I've shopped except WinCo, but I don't go to Reno all that often."

Carol Tickey said she had yet to get her business license for her new barber shop next door to the Sak 'N Save when she heard the news.

"What a sad day," Tickey said while sitting in a barber stool inside her business, A Barber Shop. "Because I was hoping to have them next to me, so we could help each other."

Tickey's first day of business was Tuesday.

"That's just my luck," she said, chuckling. "Doggone it."

Pam Anderson, owner of Straw Hat Pizza, opened for business in the same shopping center as Sak 'N Save last week. Her business used to be located in south Carson City.

"I feel bad for the community behind us, especially a lot of the elderly in the back because they're utilizing this store all the time," Anderson said. "They're walking, using their scooters."

Other business owners in the shopping center had mixed opinions about the effect the closure would have on their bottom lines.

Leslie Guagliardo, owner of the Cigarettes for Less next door to Sak 'N Save, said she's been surveying her customers about whether they directly come to her shop or if they stop by for convenience after grocery shopping.

"I'm finding that a good percentage, 80 percent to 90 percent, actually come to this store because they want to come to this store," Guagliardo said. "I'm sad to see them close because I'm going to lose part of the business, I don't know if they have plans to have another company come in there. I'm hoping something's in the process."

Mike Lavin, who has run Carson's Oak Outlet in the same shopping center as the grocery store since 1991, said he couldn't believe the news, adding he didn't think his business would be affected by Sak 'N Save shuttering.

"I'm a destination store," he said. "They're coming to me ... because they want furniture. So I don't expect to have much effect on me at all."

Adrian Martinez, owner of Taqueria La Salsa, said business went up when the grocery store re-branded in 2008. But now, he said he has his doubts.

"I really think this is going to hurt," Martinez said.