The New Errand Stops on La Verne's Foothill Boulevard, and the Big Building Still Waiting

Between August and October 2026, five businesses on and near La Verne's stretch of Foothill Boulevard opened or held their grand openings. Four are still running: a discount grocer, a print-and-ship counter, a family meat market and a breakfast-hour cafe. The fifth, a Mediterranean counter, lasted about a month. It's now on the closed list with a burger drive-thru, a juice bar and an Old Town sushi restaurant that is temporarily shut. That leaves the stretch with more places to run errands and fewer places to grab a quick bite. Meanwhile the largest building in the 1400 block is empty, and its future depends on one property owner.

The Commons now has two grocery stores

The Commons at La Verne was already a grocery stop. EDENS, the center's owner, describes it as home to a 51,000-square-foot Vons and a 30,000-square-foot Ross Dress for Less, plus regional and national tenants like Habit Burger Grill, Club Pilates, Haven Haus Cafe, Firehouse Subs and Baskin Robbins, according to its property page.

Grocery Outlet Bargain Market at 1504 Foothill Blvd. now shares the center with Vons. In July, La Verne Daily News reported that the store is locally owned by owner-operator Mark Olthoff, with signage up and fixtures on the way. The store describes itself as carrying name-brand, organic and specialty products at prices up to 60% below conventional grocery stores.

The store opened before its party did. Grocery Outlet held its grand opening on Tuesday, Sept. 29, after mandatory evacuations during the Weymouth battery fire forced it to postpone. It's open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., La Verne Daily News reported.

So one parking lot now holds a full-line supermarket and a discount grocer. For anyone who already shops at The Commons, that means two kinds of grocery runs in one stop: the weekly list at Vons and a bargain hunt at Grocery Outlet.

A shipping counter a few blocks down

The second errand stop opened quietly. The FedEx Office Print & Ship Center at 1335 Foothill Blvd. opened in August with three employees and held its grand opening Oct. 13. Store manager Jonathan Greene told La Verne Daily News that the celebration would include giveaways and a raffle for a free 3-by-5-foot banner.

It's a small store, but it covers a common chore. You can now print, pack and ship within a short drive of the grocery run, in the same 1300-to-1500 block stretch of Foothill.

The quick bites had a harder fall

In the same weeks, three places to grab a fast meal or drink on Foothill closed.

Zata Healthy Mediterranean Food opened in September at 1548 Foothill Blvd., inside The Commons near the Vons. La Verne Daily News welcomed it as a new place to get a falafel fix. By Oct. 21, a notice on its door said the restaurant was closed until further notice, and the same outlet reported that no further details were available. EDENS's directory still lists Flame Broiler at 1548 Foothill, which suggests the directory hasn't been updated to match the September and October changes.

A few blocks down, the Carl's Jr. at 1400 Foothill Blvd. closed at the start of October. La Verne Daily News described caution tape across the drive-thru, covered doors and windows, and "Store is closed" signs with no explanation.

Farther east, I.V. Juice Bar at 2320 Foothill Blvd. closed for good on Oct. 4 after five years. Owners Edgar and Jeannette Hernandez left a sign on the door thanking customers "for sharing a piece of your lives with us and allowing us to become a small part of yours," La Verne Daily News reported. Their first location, in Rancho Cucamonga, stays open.

These were three different businesses that closed for three different reasons, most of them unstated. Together they mean Foothill has fewer spots for a fast lunch or smoothie than it did in August, during the same weeks it gained a second grocer and a shipping counter.

The fall, address by address

The largest empty space is waiting on one owner

The biggest open question on this stretch is the corner where Carl's Jr. closed.

According to an email from Community Development Director Eric Scherer, reported by La Verne Daily News on Oct. 22, the property owner knew about the Carl's Jr. franchisee's bankruptcy filing and expected to get the building back as late as November. The outlet couldn't confirm whether this location was part of that filing.

The owner's part of the property also includes the former Rite Aid. The owner is weighing two paths: finding long-term tenants for the vacant buildings or redeveloping that part of the property. No plans have been finalized.

A commercial leasing listing describes the former Rite Aid at 1480 Foothill as a 16,708-square-foot drive-through space, about a third the size of the Vons at The Commons. As of Oct. 23, 2026, that listing showed the space as pending. A pending status doesn't mean a lease is signed, and no tenant has been announced.

Whatever goes into 1400 and 1480 Foothill will be the biggest change on this stretch since Grocery Outlet arrived. A new tenant that fits the fall's pattern would be another errand stop. Redevelopment would mean a longer wait before anything opens on the corner.

Off the main strip, the same pattern holds

The openings just beyond the 1300-to-1500 blocks look a lot like the ones at The Commons.

Larios Meat Market, a family-owned butcher at 1912 Arrow Hwy., held its grand opening on Sept. 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with music and free tacos limited to two per person, La Verne Daily News reported. It's a specialty grocery stop on Arrow Highway, just off the Foothill corridor.

Los Jarritos Cafe Y Cocina at 2080 Foothill Blvd., in the La Verne Plaza shopping area, is officially open. It opens at 8 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday and is closed Sunday, according to La Verne Daily News. With an 8 a.m. opening, it's a breakfast and morning stop, a different role from a drive-thru or juice bar.

In Old Town, Aoki Japanese Sushi is temporarily closed, according to a notice on its front doors reported by La Verne Daily News. The notice mentions February and March, but the reopening plans aren't settled.

What to watch on Foothill through the holidays

1. The Carl's Jr. building at 1400 Foothill. The owner told the city it expected to regain control as late as November, so tenant or redevelopment news could follow soon after.
2. The former Rite Aid at 1480 Foothill. It's listed as pending, but no tenant has been named. An announcement would be the first sign of which way the owner is going.
3. 1548 Foothill at The Commons. Zata's space near the Vons is closed until further notice, and the center's directory hasn't caught up.
4. Aoki's door in Old Town. The notice points to early next year.

For now, a Foothill errand run looks different from a year ago. You can do groceries at Vons and Grocery Outlet in one parking lot, ship packages at 1335, pick up meat at 1912 Arrow Hwy. and get breakfast at 2080 Foothill Wednesday through Saturday.

If you live near Foothill and are wondering how a new grocer or a redevelopment at the Rite Aid corner might affect your street, the family at Team Andrade follows these changes block by block. Get in touch for a free home valuation and personalized plan.