EAST PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) — Target announced this week that it is closing its lone location in East Palo Alto.
The store is right off Highway 101 in a busy shopping center.
And this closure comes with tough consequences for a working-class city that has been fighting to change its reputation for years.
For residents of East Palo Alto, Target isn’t just store. It’s a destination.
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“Everybody goes shopping here. It’s just the go-to store. It really helped us a lot when it came. And it’s already going so soon,” said Aliyah Calvillo Figueria.
But come September, this Target store is set to close.
“Losing a name like target, with its reputation, with its visibility, for a city like ours, it’s unfortunate. That’s the reality,” said Mayor Antonio Lopez.
Lopez says he got the call from Target on Monday. “Under performance” is what he was told. But when Target closes, it will leave just one pharmacy for a city of 28,000 people. And few grocery options in a city once described as a food desert.
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“Because now if Target is closing, then there is no grocery store here in this area,” said Sophie Wong.
“Under performance is one of the reasons. Theft could be another reason. Generally, the e-commerce model that is getting in, it is also changing the way retail (stores) operate,” said CSUEB Business Professor Balaraman Rajan.
Rajan said it should not be a shock that Target is closing. He said for Target to open at this location, means there was data to support that it could be successful. But as new business models emerge post-pandemic, companies are reevaluating.
“It is not going to be something that is going to stop at East Palo Alto,” Rajan said. “They are pick-up places rather than the in-person shopping places. I think that is also something stores will be looking at.”
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“For a place like East Palo Alto, a working-class community of color, has been around for only 40 years, really struggled to preserve and persevere — given so much proximity to so much wealth — it has been a challenge,” Lopez said.
Lopez said the news of the Target closing comes as the city has been working on a new economic development plan. But he points to the strength of the shopping plaza right off Highway 101, making it attractive for commuters and anchored by stores like Ikea, Nordstrom Rack and Home Depot.
“Looking at the macro level, we just have to stay positive. We have to go out there, get those bids, get those stores that want to work with us, and I’m confident we will get there,” Lopez said.
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