A recent flurry of activity has put Oro Valley at peak grocery-store capacity, even with the upcoming closure of an Albertsons store, a town official said.
The Albertsons, at 10805 N. Oracle Road, will close later this month, but there are still enough supermarkets to serve Oro Valley's 44,000 residents, said David Welsh, economic development administrator for Oro Valley.
The recent slowdown of residential construction has allowed the supermarkets to finally catch up with population growth, Welsh said.
The opening of one market and the forthcoming arrival of two other stores will eventually give Oro Valley residents nine places where they can buy groceries.
A Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market at 7951 N. Oracle Road opened last month.
A Wal-Mart Supercenter, which also carries groceries, was recently added to the list of tenants at the Oro Valley Marketplace, which will be built at the southwest corner of Tangerine and North Oracle roads.
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The shopping center is scheduled to open in fall 2008.
A Bashas' Supermarket at 13005 N. Oracle closed for renovations in December and will reopen in the spring as Ike's Farmer's Market.
Five other supermarkets serve Oro Valley: two Fry's Food and Drug stores at 10450 N. La Cañada Drive and 10661 N. Oracle Road; a Safeway at 12122 N. Rancho Vistoso Blvd.; Sprouts Farmers Market at 7665 N. Oracle Road; and a Trader Joe's at 7912 N. Oracle Road.
Yet another grocery store, a Bashas', opened last spring in Catalina at Oracle and Golder Ranch Roads, three miles north of the supermarket that is under renovation.
From there, the number of grocery stores will not increase dramatically unless the town expands its boundaries, Welsh said.
"There will be no explosion of grocery stores unless annexation occurs," Welsh said.
The town is looking to annex an area bounded by West Ina, West Overton and North Shannon roads and North La Cholla Boulevard.. That would add two more stores that sell groceries — Albertsons and a Wal-Mart Supercenter.
Oro Valley's economic development division is having preliminary discussions with businesses in the area to assess their level of interest regarding annexation, Welsh said.
Residential growth in southern Pinal County could also draw more supermarkets to Oro Valley and surrounding areas, Welsh said.
"The growth coming from southern Pinal County is tremendous," he said. "That will happen with or without annexation."
Supermarket spokespeople say their companies saw the opportunity to fulfill the needs of grocery shoppers in the area.
"Oro Valley is a growing community and underserved from a grocery standpoint," said Delia Garcia, spokeswoman for Wal-Mart.
The Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market is smaller and more grocery-oriented than its larger counterparts, Garcia said in a telephone interview.
"It's designed for more convenience," she said.
Bashas' decided to change its format because the company saw a growing demand for markets that offer natural and organic foods, said Ike's Farmer's Market spokesman Jayson Mead.
"Based on our research, Oro Valley is home to many people trying to eat healthier," Mead said in an e-mail.
Even though people will have to adjust to the changes, some residents are satisfied with the present choices.
David Garcia, 17, lives in Oracle, but his family does most of their shopping in Oro Valley.
"We get our meat here (Fry's) and other stuff at Bashas'," Garcia said.
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