Grocery Outlet is on the Go! Work has finally resumed on preparations for the store. April 2027 opening date now forecast

In the north town area, a cycle shop and a mower repair shop are both emerging businesses.

We have been following the Grocery Outlet story and writing about it for several publications. We have contacted their PR department and executives but have received no response lately, which is not surprising for a conservative, not very talkative corporation.

But then we drove down to Noyo Harbor last night and saw a big operation removing all the grass and beginning the parking lot work on the south end of the future Grocery Outlet lot, which is located on the extreme south end of Franklin Street, just short of Noyo Bridge (and one block east).

We tried to talk to several men working there, but as bulldozers rumbled, they chose not to engage.

The lot remained quiet following last year’s approval, which was promptly followed by the demolition of the county building that once stood there and the installation of a fence. After that, there was a period of inactivity. Subsequently, negative news emerged regarding Grocery Outlet’s profits, along with the closure of several other stores the company had built but never opened. During that time, we made extensive efforts to confirm whether the Fort Bragg store was still on the company’s agenda. Despite numerous attempts, no one was willing to speak, but after persistent calls, an executive returned my call. Interestingly, he declined to have his name used but was comfortable verifying his identity and spoke with me briefly. He affirmed that the company remained committed to the Fort Bragg store despite the other closures and acknowledged the company’s mistakes and overly rapid expansion, which had been publicly disclosed. This led to a follow-up story, supported by this valuable, albeit anonymous, source.

Although his timeline was delayed, it now appears that the construction of the Fort Bragg store is finally underway.

Many in Fort Bragg are genuinely excited to have low‑cost canned and packaged foods available in town. Grocery Outlet followed the full Democratic process, received its approvals, and for that reason we support its right to open and welcome the store to the community.

Personally, I believe the long‑term consequences for the town will be more complicated. Grocery Outlet’s model has one admirable feature: each store is half‑owned by the corporation and half‑owned by an individual operator. They did try to find a local partner before selecting a Bay Area man whose family is involved in other stores. We have always respected the Grocery Outlet corporation itself. It is an old‑fashioned, rule‑following, conservative company—something increasingly rare in a 2026 landscape dominated by Wall Street shortcuts.

Their Environmental Impact Report was done largely because they want their partner‑owners to succeed. And success is possible, but extremely difficult. These operators work long hours, track every nickel, and often rely on family networks to make the model sustainable. In a world shaped by crony, feudal‑style capitalism, it remains one of the few business structures where an ordinary person can still build something.

But for the town, the picture is different. Grocery Outlet pays the legal minimum and its workers labor almost as hard as the co‑owner. And the store is not as universally cheap as people assume. I did a comparison trip to the Ukiah Grocery Outlet, checking prices against Purity, Harvest, and Safeway. If you shop the way I do—seeking specific items—Grocery Outlet is not the store for you. If you like canned, dried, and processed foods, it can be a treasure hunt, but the selection changes constantly. Don’t expect your favorite product to be there twice; do expect surprises every time.

Frank’s mother taught him early that shopping across multiple stores saves real money. She treated price‑hunting like a treasure hunt, and she was right. Some items were cheapest at Harvest, some at Purity, some at Safeway, and some at Grocery Outlet. Grocery Outlet excelled in canned, powdered, and certain processed foods. Safeway actually won on many chips and snack items. Ukiah’s Grocery Outlet carried more local products and a good selection of North Coast brews, though no Thanksgiving Coffee.

When I mentioned publicly that I planned to share my price comparisons, I got blowback from what I can only describe as the local Grocery Outlet Go‑Go cult—people offended that anyone would question the claim that Grocery Outlet has the lowest prices on everything simply because the ad says so. Shop for yourself and you’ll see that isn’t true.

Another persistent myth is that the Fort Bragg Safeway is the most expensive in the state. That is also not true. I’ve compared Safeway prices in Wilits, Fresno, and Santa Rosa. While stuck in the Fresno store waiting for a pharmacy transfer, I did a detailed comparison. The prices were the same.

To survive in modern times, it’s essential to use your own eyes and your own brain—and to verify claims away from the noise of social media, where misinformation spreads faster than facts.

We don’t have a timeline on the Fort Bragg Grocery Outlet, but it’s reasonable to expect progress to move quickly now that work has resumed. The company has been through its first truly rough stretch in decades over the past two years—closing a number of unopened, already‑leased stores and navigating an internal legal dispute that makes for dense, uneasy reading.

If you’re interested in that kind of thing, I can point you to the SEC filings where the company lays out the details. These disclosures are meant to inform shareholders of publicly traded companies, but they’re written in a way that only a patient lawyer could fully untangle. And unlike the pre‑internet era, there’s almost no media coverage of these kinds of corporate struggles anymore, even when they affect communities like ours.

Happy shopping, and for everyone who believes in the value of a real Democratic process, it makes sense to welcome any new local business that comes here through the proper channels—and then shop according to your own principles. For me, that means supporting the Farmers Market, Harvest, Purity, Down Home Foods, and Corners of the Mouth first. Those places keep our future rooted in local hands.

And if you need canned foods, the Fort Bragg Food Bank remains one of the best resources in town. When times improve, consider giving back to them—they stretch every dollar farther than most of us ever could.

I’ve also benefited enormously from working with the nutritionist at Mendocino Coast Clinics. Eating less, eating better, and steering clear of fast foods and heavily processed products has made a real difference. It’s worth paying attention to calories, sodium, and the long list of additives that can leave you hungrier than before, especially when they’re paired with high‑carb ingredients. And for kids, a steady diet of sugary or ultra‑processed foods can set the stage for lifelong struggles with diabetes and obesity.

Choosing well—locally, thoughtfully, and with an eye on long‑term health—is one of the most powerful things any of us can do for ourselves and our community.

We also spoke with Fort Bragg City Manager Isaac Whippy, who said Grocery Outlet has kept up its communication with the city and has given no indication that it might not move forward with building the store.

Unfortunately for us, contacting the city about this seems to have resulted in a press release again, but some good info for readers.

Grocery Outlet construction is officially underway following our pre-construction meeting, and you’ll start seeing real progress on site this week.

What’s happening this week:
• Equipment mobilization, site clearing, and grading
• Survey crews staking key improvements
• K-rail installation and temporary sound barrier construction

What’s ahead:
Construction is expected to take about 12 months, with the building and site completed before November

Looking forward:
Grocery Outlet is currently targeting an opening in April 2027, bringing more affordable grocery options to our community.

Swipe to check out the conceptual renderings of what’s coming. See link for press release: https://webgen1.revize.com/…/news_detail_T5_R107.php

We’re excited to see this project moving forward, and we’ll keep sharing updates along the way!

We’ve also tucked in a few other discoveries—little gems, oddities, and bits of buzz from new and growing businesses around town. Think of it as a scavenger hunt of what’s popping up across the community.

Floyd and Connie’s on the way…

Stephanie Butler and Nicholas Dorgan—partners in life and in the kitchen—are preparing to open a brick‑and‑mortar version of Floyd and Connie’s in the former Noyo River Grill. The spot sits right on the water in Noyo Harbor, tucked between The Wharf and Princess Seafood’s restaurant under the bridge.

Finding it takes a little local knowledge: if you’re headed west, go past the old Capt. Flint’s parking lot, turn into what looks like the trailer park entrance, follow the road down, take a right, and park. When you think you’ve gone the wrong way, you’re almost there.

The restaurant isn’t opening until summer, but hiring is already underway, and applications are available on their website. Floyd and Connie were Nick’s grandparents, and the name is a nod to the family roots behind the food.

The Mendocino Voice profiled the pop‑up version of Floyd and Connie’s back in 2024, when it operated out of Café B in Mendocino. Now the team is bringing that dream to a small, well‑placed harbor restaurant with a front‑row seat to the tide.

Weekly dinner pop-up in Mendocino channels old school vibes

Real understanding still comes from real‑world observation. Look at the shelves, the prices, the people working the aisles. Reality is still found out here, not on a screen—and the truth is still in the real world. And if we want to know what’s actually happening to our town, our workers, our stores, and our choices, we have to keep showing up with our own eyes open. That’s the work. That’s the responsibility. And that’s how a community stays honest with itself—one cart, one conversation, one comparison at a time.