Altadena Market has Reopened

The Altadena Market at 153 W. Altadena Drive is now open again after its new owner restarted the business last month.

The market, which had been open at its location at the corner of Altadena and Glenrose for decades, abruptly closed in November.

The market is located in an area of Altadena that is otherwise deprived of nearby retail, and though it is small, will also be the closest store with basic grocery items for many Altadena residents.

Bo Tran, the new owner, said that very little has changed from the old store to the new, and even has the same store manager and butcher who previously worked out of the shop employed in the new market.

"I've kept everything the same, but with a better environment, cleaner," Tran said.

He said he also hopes to have a deli counter open soon that will give people lunch options like sandwiches and hot dogs.  He noted the store will be open one hour later each day, until 8 p.m. rather than 7.

Tran is the owner of an auto shop in Covina, and said he has wanted to own a market somewhere locally for a long time.

"I really like meeting people, talking to people," Tran said.

The original tenant left the property after troubles with the landlord, who hired a broker to locate a new tenant.

The store has always had a reputation for being willing to special order items for customers and trying to be responsive to their needs, according to Marsha Fowler, an Altadena resident who wrote about the opening in the Altadena Wired Women email newsletter.

"In the past they have special ordered hings for me when I requested them -- like 2 cases of cabbage for a friend to make sauerkraut! " Fowler wrote. "[The store's butcher] also grinds his own hamburger, makes his own sausage mix, and will bone chicken breasts, etc if asked. Its great to have a real butcher--not the shrink wrapped stuff. Produce selection in the past has been excellent quality, good prices, though limited range, but including a few 'odd' things like tomatillos."