San Diego grocery shopping may never be the same.
Discount chains are expanding in the county and setting up an expectation for local shoppers. On Wednesday, it was a new Smart & Final "Extra" store that opened in Chula Vista, one of dozen Extra stores moving into the bankrupt Haggen locations.
But it's not just Smart & Final pushing the discount envelope. The giant size Winco opened up a store in San Marcos late last year. And the German owned Aldi chain is expanding into Southern California, including its first store in Vista by the summer.
Add these new stores to discount chains like Grocery Outlet and Food for Less and you're setting the bar for low cost food choices.
That's what drew shopper Candy Beltran to the Smart & Final Extra opening in Chula Vista. "The pricing is very competitive, very good and very reasonable," she said.
Celeste Cruz agrees: "It's like a mixture of Costco and it is really cheap and convenient."
Now some of the old Haggen locations are anything but discount. Los Angeles-based Gelson's took over three stores in the county and there is a Bristol Farms opening this summer. Some of the Haggen locations are going ethnic with both Asian and Hispanic food choices, such as the 99 Ranch store that will be moving into Clairemont.
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Industry analysts wonder how the move toward discounts will influence traditional store chains like Ralphs, Albertsons and Vons.
