Willits Grocery Outlet Gets Yellow Tagged Following Quake
The popular store is not safe for shoppers due to earthquake damage
The Grocery Outlet in Willits will remain closed for the foreseeable future after a recent earthquake caused major structural damage to a critical support column inside the building.
Following the earthquake, Willits Building Official and Public Works Director Davey Bowles inspected the supermarket and identified damage to the column. Due to the severity of the damage and the safety risks it presents, city officials yellow-tagged the building and restricted occupancy.
“The safety of the public and the store’s employees are going to remain our highest priority,” Dusty Duley, the city’s Community Development Director, said in an interview with MendoLocal.News.
Before the popular supermarket can reopen, the property owner must hire an engineer to evaluate the building, develop engineering plans to repair the support column, and submit those plans to the city for review.
While the building remains closed to the public, the property owner can bring structural engineers and contractors inside.
City officials said they are prepared to expedite the plan review and permitting process once the paperwork is submitted to ensure the project moves forward as quickly as possible. However, there is currently no timeline for when the store might reopen.
“Right now, all I can tell you is once we get plans, we’re prepared to make it a high priority,” Duley said, noting that the city has not yet received any building permit applications related to the repairs.
Once the plans are approved and the repairs are complete, the city will conduct a final inspection.
While Grocery Outlet remains closed, other local supermarkets have fared better. The nearby Mariposa Market—a newer building constructed to higher standards—sustained almost no damage other than stock falling off its shelves and has reopened. Safeway has also reopened after addressing cleanup, minor water leaks, and securing bent pipes in its fire suppression system.
Local officials are urging residents and business owners who experienced earthquake damage to visit mendoready.org to complete a damage assessment form. While completing the form does not guarantee financial assistance, the data helps Mendocino County track the full impact of the earthquake to potentially qualify for state or federal disaster assistance.
Elise, thank you so much for following up on this and confirming my suspicions. I expect a big job ahead for the engineers and (hopeful) repair crew. I was working on a movie in a similar structure in Pt. Richmond during the Loma Prieta where the local seismicity was on par, relative to proximity to the epicenter, with what hit Willits. That building was ultimately red-tagged. But just after the film wrapped, somehow. 😜