Rancho San Miguel opens its doors in Livingston; council approves residential project

A colorful supermarket known for its fresh Mexican food deli opened in Livingston on Wednesday, adding 80 new jobs to the economy.

A rush of customers swarmed the new Rancho San Miguel store on Winton Parkway just after 9 a.m., after an hourlong ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The 55,000-square-foot supermarket is the second retailer to open in the Livingston shopping center. A neighboring AutoZone store opened in January, employing about 10 people.

Rancho San Miguel is expected to have 130 employees, with at least 80 considered new positions. The supermarket will have a full deli counter, similar to its location in Merced.

“That’s 80 jobs we didn’t have before,” Livingston Mayor Pro Tem Gurpal Samra said Wednesday. “Any jobs being added is good – that’s somebody working and contributing to the community.”

Samra said the city has seen more new businesses open in the past couple of months than in the past three years. It’s a sign things are turning around for Livingston, he said.

CVS Pharmacy is expected to open in the same shopping center next month, Samra said. Less than a mile down the road, a Motel 6 is set to open by the end of the year.

Interim City Manager Odi Ortiz said he hopes the new retail businesses will attract other types of development to Livingston, including more residential properties.

Residential development already appears to be picking up in the city.

During a Livingston City Council meeting Tuesday, the council unanimously approved a site plan for a proposal to build 30 homes. Sun Valley Estates, owned by a developer with ties to Livingston, proposes building the single-family homes in a subdivision near Peach Avenue and Main Street.

Ten of the 30 homes will be built initially, with the rest to follow as the market demands. City leaders estimate the new homes will sell quickly because of a shortage in the city’s inventory of new properties.

“We’re just excited to get another housing project going, and it will assist with increasing our tax base revenue,” Ortiz said. “It’s a sign of recovery, and it’s supporting our continued efforts in economic development.”

This story was originally published March 4, 2015 at 7:53 PM with the headline "Rancho San Miguel opens its doors in Livingston; council approves residential project."