86'd - Elk Grove Blvd. Bel Air Store Gone

A vestige of Elk Grove's pre-incorporation days days - Bel Air's original store on Elk Grove Blvd. is gone. That was word coming out of Wednesday night's city council meeting.

Although the fate of the store was not on the Elk Grove City Council's agenda Wednesday night, the matter was brought up by Elk Grove resident Tom Waltman during the public comment on non-agenda items. In his comments Waltman wanted to know if the city had been able to do anything to keep the store from closing and expressed concern about the effect the closure will have on the neighborhood.

"That store is the rock that neighborhood is centered on," Waltman said. "This is going to cause a hardship on the individuals who live in that area."

Responding to those comment, Council Member Pat Hume said that he and city staff have been in contact with Raley's (the owner of Bel Air) and they are determined to close the store. "They [the landlord] are trying to backfill that space," Hume added.

Hume also noted that when the nearby Bel Air store on Elk Grove Blvd. and Waterman Road was approved several years ago, one of the conditions was that the older store would stay open for at least five more years. "I think that was about eight years ago," Hume noted.