![]() ![]() “Costco added grocery space when it expanded. Trader Joe’s added 11,000 square feet,” Gerber said. When several Bell Markets closed in Novato, the one in Ignacio was taken over by Dollar Tree and the Nave one became a Grocery Outlet.”īut the closing of The Square’s DeLano’s IGA in 2009 coincided with both an economic recession and the arrival of an unprecedented expansion of Novato’s groceries, Gerber said. ![]() “When Safeway left Pacheco Plaza for Hamilton, Paradise Foods came in. In the past, Gerber noted, Novato’s many grocery stores found replacements almost as soon as they closed. “But he - and The Square - have been victimized by the marketplace, and by a lot of grocery store square footage coming into Novato.” “My best understanding is that the landlord is working very hard to get a grocery store replacement,” said Novato Redevelopment Administrator Ron Gerber. Some tenants have also suggested that Horizon Properties has paid scant attention to the need for a new anchor tenant. “We tried to negotiate, but the landlord wouldn’t budge,” said Villa Roma Pizza owner Walter Pekic, who had asked for a $1,100 reduction in his $4,400 monthly lease. A spokesman for the Petaluma company did not respond to repeated requests for an interview. So why has The Square become stagnant? Many tenants point to landlord Horizon Properties, whom they say has declined to maintain the physical condition of the mall and refused to negotiate rents, even during an economic slump. “But as their neighbors disappear, it’s becoming harder and harder for those businesses to hang on.” “There are some pretty viable businesses still there - a marvelous deli, a great Thai restaurant and a terrific health food store,” said Peter Tiernan, chairman of the Novato Planning Commission, who lives nearby. Tagliaferri’s Deli, a veteran of 15 years, is considering doing the same. Just last month, the Villa Roma pizzeria - a mainstay in The Square for 24 years - closed its doors. And that vacancy number continues to grow. There are 13 tenants remaining in The Square, and 11 vacancies. I still go to the liquor store, and sometimes the doughnut shop. “There was a Mexican restaurant, El Gallo. ![]() And he continues to visit The Square now, even though DeLano’s has become an empty shell, and many of his other favorite shops and restaurants have disappeared from the mall. Rombeiro has returned over the years, as the Roger Wilco became a Bell Market and the Bell Market became a DeLano’s IGA. “My sister and the other people here in the neighborhood liked to walk to the grocery store, a Roger Wilco.” This was a good spot then, a good neighborhood,” Rombeiro said. “My sister bought her house 50 years ago. When he visits his sister - which is fairly often these days - Rombeiro remembers The Square as it was when he and his sister first came to town. Edmundo Rombeiro’s sister lives just a block from The Square, the Novato shopping center near the intersection of Simmons Lane and Novato Boulevard. ![]()
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