The long-awaited Del Rio Marketplace off Highway 101 in Atascadero is set to open soon.
According to Community Development Director Phil Dunsmore, the new shopping center off Del Rio Road has been in the works for years but over the coming weeks, some of the businesses will finally be opening.
"We call this a 360 development because it's got a little bit of everything. It's not your normal strip mall, it's not your normal shopping center," Dunsmore said.
The shopping center is anchored by upscale grocery store Valley Fresh Market and will include a Forager distillery and restaurant, office spaces, and housing.
"So this is a center where we're going to see people living and working, shopping, eating, entertaining," Dunsmore explained.
He says the City felt a need to put an upscale grocery store in town.
"There’s also a significant demand for just a regular grocery store or an upscale grocery store," he says. "A lot of folks now are leaving town to go buy those products."
Valley Fresh Markets owner Greg King says a few years ago, somebody from the City called him and said people were looking for a grocery store like his.
King tells KSBY that his family has deep roots on the Central Coast and they are excited about having a store in Atascadero.
Dunsmore says that the center was originally going to be anchored by a Walmart, but Walmart officials later decided to sell their spot in the development.
This caused some delays in the shopping center opening, as well as challenges in getting supplies post-COVID.
The one-stop-shop marketplace is expected to help create more local jobs.
"It seems like Paso Robles and Atascadero are growing more and more," says local Peter Hernandez.
"And I think it's going to be wonderful," says Marjourie Fuchs of Atascadero. "I think it's going to bring people in, and I think it's going to be a great meeting place, and I'm looking forward to that."
While there is no set opening date just yet, Valley Fresh Market and Forager distillery and restaurant are expected to open sometime this summer.
