Lazy Acres Natural Market Moving Forward In Hollywood But Still Years Away

Good Food Holdings—the parent company of Lazy Acres Natural Market—is moving forward with plans to open the neighborhood grocer in place of Rite Aid, at 1823-1863 North Western Avenue.

The company this week is slated to attend an additional hearing with the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee to address new items added to the applicant’s request, which include increasing the existing number of parking stalls from 85 to 95. There is a request to build a three-foot landscape buffer with evergreen screening shrubs on Western Avenue in lieu of a solid masonry wall. Additionally, the company has filed a Conditional Use Permit to allow the sale and dispensing of alcoholic beverages.

Joe Ragusa, vice president of marketing and merchandising at Lazy Acres, told What Now Los Angeles (WNLA) Tuesday, “Our exact timeline is still being worked out. We don’t anticipate until [January] 2022 at the earliest, but that was the case prior to COVID. Can’t imagine we would speed that up.”

WNLA at the end of 2019 first reported the plans for Lazy Acres to take over the site of the Rite Aid. At the time, the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council approved plans for building a new entry tower, sidewalk canopy for shopping carts, and an 8,160-square-foot addition to the existing building. Sun Cleaners, a dry cleaner fronting Franklin Avenue, will need to be demolished to make way for the grocer. Upgrades will also be made to the facade.

Lazy Acres Market is an organic health food store that has locations in Long Beach, Santa Barbara, Encinitas, San Diego-Mission Hills, and Hermosa Beach.