Save Mart Companies shuts down distribution center in Merced County. Over 200 workers affected

There was a quiet calm over the Yosemite Wholesale Distribution in Merced County following Save Mart Companies’ closure of the facility last month.

The company, which operates 194 stores, 79 of them under the Save Mart name, confirmed the plan to close the distribution center located in Merced County in early September. The company also closed a distribution center in Roseville earlier this year.

A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice, was submitted to the State of California Employment Development Department in September. The notice included the company’s intent to close the Yosemite Wholesale Distribution Center in November with the closure expected to be permanent.

The notice submitted at that time indicated a total of 254 individuals would be affected by the closing of the facility.

In 2024, Save Mart was purchased by the Canadian-based Jim Pattison Group in a sale that included both FoodMaxx and Lucky Stores. Prior to the 2024 sale, Save Mart, headquartered in Modesto, was to Los Angeles-based private equity firm Kingswood Capital Management LP in 2022.

Save Mart Companies corporate office did not respond to a Merced Sun-Star request for comment.

This story was originally published December 10, 2024 at 10:00 AM.