I went in here once and some of the items I looked at had expired months before. This place is struggling for a reason.

It's nice to have a walkable market downtown, but I worry for this place. It's fairly expensive, the selection isn't great, but it's sure convenient for the things that they do stock. I wonder what they could change to bring in more business. Everything sold at Ava's is available at the large markets nearby usually for lower prices.

Also, how can it cost $300,000 to replace some broken refrigerators? I googled it a bit, and four door grocery store coolers cost less than $10k.

Thanks to Daniel DeBolt for the update and unflinching report on the failure of the City to come through for this attractive venture.

The store and the people are great to have in the neighborhood. The service is unbeatable, the variety is remarkable for a small store, and the quality is always good. The deli counter made-to-order menu is restaurant-level cooking. Produce is fresh and there is a nice selection of local and organic stuff, along with several specialty sections (gluten-free, vegan, bulk bins, various ethnic cuisines, etc.) great breads, super local pastries, etc. Juan knows wine and beer very well, and always has great suggestions across a variety of types and prices.

Pricing is relative - yes, obviously some items are cheaper elsewhere, but elsewhere is the key here. Having a high quality shop like this in the middle of downtown is worth the difference to me, in terms of saving time and driving costs, as well as the pleasure of such an amenity right in the neighborhood.

The lack of neighborhood and community-wide pressure on the City to get past their entrenched and in some cases tyrannical ways and support this as a mutual investment is long overdue. We all "own" this and need to push for priorities and effective processes to enable a dynamic small business to do things that will benefit all concerned. This is an area of neglect that reflects rather tellingly on the culture of our City management. And I wonder how often the City Council members get a couple of blocks down the street to patronize Ava's?

It is with some indignation that I read the comments on the cost of replacing an aisle of freezers (which are the remaining items out of commission- not refrigerators) - oh, you Googled it, you must have the whole picture? The $300k would have gone into the cost of a number of updates of several banks of coolers, refrigerators and freezers, and other significant energy-efficiency improvements, along with other good things. The Origels have since managed to do a lot of this on their own, by the way. And the one-time experience of expiration dates of some odd items that are probably long gone (can you find anything out of date now?) -- is this currently a fair criticism?

Ava's can be part of a a comfortable routine and source for something special. Folks, use it and advocate for it, or lose it!

Since when does the city allocate funds to private businesses? Installing new freezers and updating a privately owned store at public expense? That's not where I want my tax dollars going. Seems way over the top under any circumstance but in this situation it would be for a store that benefits a very small portion of the MV residents- namely (primarily) those downtown residents that need an emergency grocery item and a few regular shoppers. I'm totally in support of small, local businesses and would attempt to support them through purchases if I lived there but I do expect them to operate on their own. I'm glad the city hasn't coughed up any money.

It is unfortunate that the nearby residents have not adequately supported Ava's downtown market. They have voted with their lack o=f support.

Yes, their prices are higher than supermarkets Yes, you usually have to pay for convenience.

I've been shopping at Ava's from the beginning and find it a wonderful downtown resource. Juan is a true grocer - knowledgeable, friendly, and always willing to go the extra mile to help. I too wish the City would see the value of having a downtown grocery store and help out by providing dedicated parking for Ava's. I'm sure Ava's has increased local property values since its made living downtown more convenient for residents and visitors.

Actually, "Huh?", the funds would have come from a Downtown Revitalization District formed to support a variety of improvements in the area. There were about 400 of these special authorities in California at the time. The targeted improvements included strategic purchasing of properties for redevelopment, facade renovations, and even support for the viability of a downtown grocery. There was strong community sentiment in favor of incentivizing a grocery, and demonstrations and lobbying in support.

Because the community really wanted a store and the risks were significant, the City was going to share that risk by helping to upgrade the facility.

Cities allocate funds to all sorts of private businesses all of the time, in the form of direct funding, tax breaks, and other incentives including cheap acquisition of City property. Businesses in turn bring in tax revenues, jobs, desirable visitors who support other businesses, etc. Most of this benefits the community as a whole, and the assertion is that the incentives more than pay for themselves. The benefits of a downtown market per se apply to 19,000 people according to the 2011 City study cited.

Meanwhile, despite the promises not fulfilled, the Origels have steadily made major improvements to the facility and fixtures, and entirely revamped their stock offerings to meet customer preferences. It is not at all operated as purely a convenience or emergency stop; Ava's is a fine grocery store that deserves appreciation (and business!) for its quality and service. Check it out!

As to the question of the City subsidizing businesses -- in the early 1990s they spent $100K to get Costco to move here. I can't recall if the exact expenditure was in the form of sales tax foregiveness or something else, but it was definitely a "good as cash" subsidy.

More recently, the City had a "facade improvement program" that co-funded upgrades to the exteriors of buildings on Castro St. I believe typical grants were in the range of $5,000 - $15,000.

And, of course, the decision to not charge for parking is a business support activity that "costs" the City tens of thousands of dollars per year, if not more.

I would like to see all the ground floor non-handicap parking in the parking structure between Ava's and CVS marked for the exclusive use of those two businesses between 8 AM and 6 PM, 7 days a week.

We LOVE Ava's Downtown Market, and I hope the city will support its continued existence. The remarkable family running this grocery are astonishingly welcoming of customer input, and they now stock many of my favorite daily needs (Strauss organic milk and yogurt, organic and low-sodium broth, etc). I live close enough to walk to Ava's so the parking is not an issue for me; but it would likely bring them some extra business to have dedicated parking, and I think the city should make this happen. They do need help to replace the freezers; I was shocked recently to see that they had closed their freezer isle.

This little store has amazing variety for its size and it has contributed greatly to the "walkability" of our neighborhood. I can send my kids to the store for a gallon of milk!

"Adequate parking is key to the success of other downtown grocery stores on the peninsula, according to the study discussed by the City Council"

Yet, some imbecile on city staff decided to change the ground floor parking in the Bryant/California garage to 60 minutes from 30 minutes. If you try to go to Ava's or CVS at lunch or dinner time every spot is filled with restaurant patrons. All the while the top floors of the garage are empty. There's not really a parking problem if the parking is managed correctly.

Some of these comments are awful. I'll bet you people are fun at parties...

Ava's is an AWESOME store. They have a great beer selection. Quality meat.

The commenters here are just internet tough-guys.

We LOVE Ava's! It's so hard to find locally sourced foods from local folks (sure, you can go to Whole Foods and get lost in the crowd, but...why?). This store is the closest I've felt to the small grocery in the town I grew up in, and although it is a bit more expensive than other stores I feel it is well worth it so long as the food is fresh and local. With their recent struggles, I have seen it not looking so fresh sometimes. Which usually makes me want to shop there more often and encourage others to do so, too!

I've suggested to Juan that delivery via a website might be a huge boon to the business. It is hard to get downtown much of the time, and parking is ever an issue unless you go mid-morning. The city dedicating some parking to them would be a big help. As for the city putting any money into the business, I am totally fine with that. The city has given enough benefits to other large corporations to entice their business (tax incentives, etc.), why not put up some money to keep something local? All those folks who were in an uproar over the Milk Pail, here is another local gem (in-the-rough now, maybe, but over time it has wonderful potential).

I can't think of any other place where I go to shop where the people who work there treat me and my children like we're part of the same community. Because we are.

They don't truly understand the meaning of the word "community". They would much prefer a major mega store digging its claws into downtown Mountain View. A family store, who cares? It's too expensive. Price is a major criteria for these people. But who can blame them. There are many who are suffering from unemployment and running short on cash so for them money is a big deal. For others who are able to afford to live in downtown, price is not a big deal. So it's a bit of a class issue too.

But mostly, the store is a good one. People should support it if they can. At least buy some bananas now and then. And leave the change. Have a great day!

@Resident:

My guess is that Origel requested $300K to replace *ALL* of the store's refrigeration equipment, and probably high-balled the figure. The failed unit is only one of several refrigeration units, which means it is worth a fraction of the total amount of the refrigeration equipment, since all of them didn't fail at once.

Various refrigeration items have different values, including produce tables, meat & fish display cases, walk-in refrigerators/freezers, etc.

This isn't the two-door Frigidaire in your kitchen.

Many of the items for "sale" are leftovers from when this was an Asian store. 2011 you say? That is some old stock for an non Asian store. Who are you selling too? Yes their are fruits and dairy and deli items but 50% of the store are non selling items.

I have used Ava's as my main grocery store since they opened. Back then, the choices were not as great as they are now, but Juan and Ann have been amazingly responsive to requests and suggestions. While it is a little more expensive for some items, what I save on gas and time to get to other stores definitely makes up for it. I do ride my bike there - so parking is not an issue for me. When I couldn't ride for a while though, it was obvious that the lack of parking is an obstacle.

Personally, I think using city money to help this business would be a great investment. We've already spent a lot - consider the amount of time the staff and council spent in the past just considering a grocery store for downtown.

However, the best support would be to use it. The more customers there are, the healthier the business will be for the long term.

I really appreciated learning that Ava's had a problem with maintaining the business. I usually go in off and on. I'm going to show my support for going there more frequently. The deli is really good. Lots of choices for breakfast and lunch too.
Thanks for the article.

I work downtown and there are a few reasons I think this store is not doing so well. (a) Items on deli menu do not sound good to me and I'm not going to pay $10 for a salad that has no meat. There is a reason the deli is not popular and I am suprised they haven't changed the menu since it is not working. (b) old meat in the meat department looks gross. if you're going to sell old meat, don't put it on display, just put a sign somewhere.

On the positive side, the store has many unique, quality items that are hard to find.

i work in an office building a few blocks away, our office gets weekly delivery of fruit from them as well as occasional sandwich orders for lunch. sorry to see they are struggling, but the fridges are not the problem. if there are not enough people to support the business, even if you buy new fridges for them, how long are they going to last? the previous store did not survive and this one is barely surviving, then probably the downtown area can not sustain a grocery store.

@ Jeff and Bruce - yes I realize that businesses get incentives to open within a city in order to draw tax revenue (Costco brings tons of revenue into MV) and also in order to improve the exterior aesthetics to an area. But buying freezers for a struggling business is not a public responsibility and the odds of increasing tax revenue by infusing public money for those types of upgrades are very low. That's just chasing bad money with good (as it sounds like they've already been given some public funds). Although folks lobbied for a downtown grocery store, the fact that it's not being supported suggests that the need isn't really there. As far as parking, I don't see that as a solution. The whole point of a downtown store is to have one you can walk to. Once folks get in their cars they're more likely to drive to a larger, less expensive store that has greater variety (unless they're only picking up an emergency item or two). And nobody that's not a downtown resident is going to drive into downtown MV just to shop at that store. It's sad that they're struggling and that they're not better supported by the locals but they're certainly not alone. Many businesses try and fail (should we also be paying for upgrades for all the struggling restaurants and shops?) and the public tax dollars shouldn't be used to prop them up.

"Since when does the city allocate funds to private businesses?"

Um, $18 million to the joint venture with Long's (now CVS) to build that Bryant/California garage (complete with solar electricity)? Hundreds of thousands on consultant studies when the City sought a downtown grocer last decade? (The Origels then showed up and brought in their own, with no City assistance.)

The "Stop the Trolls" people are right on target -- this story has gotten some magnificently clueless comments (in the Town Square tradition). I like the one from the person who dropped in once and found some old produce (which can happen at any Safeway, and if you dropped in more than once you might grasp how clueless a characterization it is for the whole market -- or maybe you wouldn't, even then). And the one about the old merchandise from the Chinese market, which was all sold off by 2012. New Asian products are brought in because customers buy them.

Ava's constantly adapts its inventory to customer feedback, and THAT is the distinctive feature some of these people would see if they paid attention for a change!

The downtown needs a general grocer. The City already concluded that 10 years ago, before spending most of those funds on consultants. This family has made a go of it for three and a half years (contrast Miki's in Palo Alto, with huge fanfare, saturation ad campaign, hiring people away from grocers all over -- and never came near making its expenses, closing affer five months). It's phenomenal what they accomplish.

Rather than getting the city to fix Ava's problems, just go shop there and help the owners directly by spending money. Despite my complaint earlier about their high prices, I still stop by at least a couple times a week and pick up a few things.

Ava's needs to find a way to pull in more customers. Right now, they're a small grocer in a convenient location for some people, without compelling products to pull people in. I don't know what this would be, but I hope they find the magic formula. What makes the Milk Pail so popular?

For those that feel that a downtown grocery store is a necessity, the only way to keep it open is to do all your regular shopping there. Picking up a few items a few days a week won't do it. My guess is that's all they get there. Ava's depends entirely upon the downtown residents - this store will never pull in people from other areas in MV because there's nothing unique about the products- all can be purchased elsewhere (for less money). So downtown people get your fellow locals to shop there regularly if you want the store to stay open. I'm not interested in spending my tax dollars to support a store that the only people it serves don't support.

I have to agree with Huh on this. If this store is really that beneficial to the people living in downtown, why don't they shop in it? Lack of customers is the only reason the store is struggling.

I wonder how long it will take before even the well to do in Mt. View (and the whole Bay Area) will be priced out? THEN we will hear the outrage. We're on the verge of that now.

Support local businesses and it will keep local dollars in MV. Support it and keep it.

I've been shopping regularly at Ava's since we moved here two years ago. Usually I bike in but when I drive I never have trouble finding parking -- there's always space on the roof of the parking structure during the day. Ava's staff happily let me take my shopping cart up the elevator and then I bring it back down.
Their butcher counter is fabulous, I buy all my dairy there, and a fair bit of the rest of our groceries. The staff are so very nice to us despite the fact that I generally shop with a high-speed toddler. I hope that Ava's are here for years to come!

I like going to Ava's when my family and I have lunch or dinner downtown. It's not my main source of groceries (I usually go to the farmer's market for meat and produce), but I appreciate being able to get raw milk and veggies that I can't find at the FM while I'm already downtown without having to make an extra trip to a grocery store. Prices are higher depending on the product, but for me it's negligible and worth it for the convenience. I buy pastured eggs directly from the farmer, but I'm happy to see his product on the shelves at Ava's. I wish the meat is more fresh, but I just don't think enough people go there to give it high turnover. I wish the Origel's the best of luck.

Love this store! Not just because it's local, but because:

1) It's family-owned, and how many markets are there like that.
2) Anne and Juan could not be more accommodating to customers
3) It has just about anything you could need
4) The produce is fresh and of a wide variety
5) The meat department has some great meats
6) There's a great selection of beer and wine, and of the latter you can find some pretty good deals
7) The deli makes some killer sandwiches
8) During the street festivals, you can get to-go eats and drinks and not have to pay restaurants' high prices
9) It has a real, unique local feel, and not the homogeneous atmosphere of chain stores
10) A store with the above characteristics only adds to the appeal of the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods.

Shop at Ava's, people. We're lucky to have a market like that so near and accessible to us.

There are a lot of economically-challenged people posting here who think with their hearts and not with their heads. Due to ever-higher rents, limited floorspace, and ever-worsening parking problems, it's impossible for an affordable market to exist in downtown MV. The Rose market is the nearest competitive market, and MV wants to sacrifice it on the altar of "high density housing". There also are nearby supermarkets on Shoreline, Miramonte, and Grant Road. Anyway, we now have "wonderful" public transportation from our "incredibly speedy and convenient" free shuttles. The future of MV is really pleasant, isn't it? Higher prices and more overcrowding --- just like San Francisco.

""Um, $18 million to the joint venture with Long's (now CVS) to build that Bryant/California garage (complete with solar electricity)? Hundreds of thousands on consultant studies when the City sought a downtown grocer last decade?)"

There was no subsidy here. The city built the structure and Longs outbit Zanotto's

Study after study has shown that their is insufficient population to support a downtown store. The council has supported a store but no major grocer has decided to built a store. Its too bad Ava's is not making it but maybe they listened to much to the mob mentality that wanted a store and didnt listen with their brains. The same thing happened in the whisman area. Some residents claimed a store would make it there but no major grocery firm has decided to build there. It takes both buyer and many sellers to make a market. One shouldnt depend only on a few residents that think they know what they are talking about.

Thanks for writing this piece, I really didn't know of the hardships Ava's is going through. I'm not trying to be rude here, but wanted to make a few points.

First, I wanted to thank the Origels for keeping their market running. Ava's is really a downtown necessity, and the recent amenities are surely appreciated. I grab a sandwich from the deli pretty often, and a six-pack or bottle of wine very regularly. It's also a very convenient place to pick up a loaf of bread or gallon of milk.

Unfortunately, for me, Ava's is not the best market/deli I believe we should hope for for downtown, and I can't reach the conclusion that a market can't be viable here. Does Mollie Stone's on California Ave in PA have a much larger supporting population, relative to the number of nearby grocers? Again, I am not trying to troll here-- I really appreciate what the market brings to us, but here are a few issues that keep it from being a top notch market.

The wine selection: it's very large, this is great! But it is impossible to browse. It is unorganized in a way I haven't really seen in other shops. I am curious if just giving the wine aisle some extra attention would attract more browsers and buyers.

The produce: the selection is very small and the quality isn't great. We can't rely on getting what we need here, so we'll always have to do a weekend run to Milk Pail or Whole Foods instead. Occasionally we can find an item we need.

General selection: Of course Ava's isn't intended to be a full-blown grocer, but when we can't find basic things we'll always have to take an extra trip to another market, which means we end up doing most of our shopping there.

Wouldn't it be amazing if Ava's could pick up the adjacent empty building and become a real, full-scale grocer. Well, a resident can dream...

Why don't the people just walk to the 7/11 store on Rengstorff?

We would see a lot more thin people if that were the case.

@Jeff Muscatine

"despite the promises not fulfilled"

What promises were not fulfilled?

I'm reading a lot about parking here and though I really either walk or bike to/from Ava's on most occasions, I empathize with those who do need to drive there to shop. However, there is a parking structure directly in back of Ava's and the few times I've needed to take my car (for larger purchases), I've found parking pretty easily.

I just hope the survival of this much-needed and widely appreciated store -- one that without question adds to the quality of life, not to mention property values, in Old MV -- doesn't come down to something as trivial as where to park. I encourage anybody reading this to steer at least some of your grocery-buying to Ava's, for the sake of downtown and, more broadly, Mountain View.

Have they considered making Ava's a co-op grocery? I am not sure how this works exactly but understand this to work in many communities. This way the community supports the local grocery to remain in a space and hopefully the prices come down as well. I definitely want to see them succeed. They already remind me of a local co-op grocery in North Carolina that I loved.

I really enjoy Ava's and try to support them as much as possible. I moved here about 3 years ago from San Francisco and value the convenience and community element that a walkable, local grocery market provides. It means so much to know the owners and catch up on their day and feel like you are supporting a local business compared to the larger grocery chains, while picking up some groceries. It was refreshing when they moved in and really improved the previous market which existed there. I do feel that they maybe expanded too quickly, too soon with a deli, etc. which has forced them to keep the prices too high that it is sometimes hard to justify spending my money there.

Did Ava's change owners in Jan/Feb of this year around when this article was written?
I ask, because the country health records for Jan 23, 2015 and Feb. 11, 2015 (both before the date of this article) list a change of ownership taken place to "AUGUSTIN GARCIA" and now give another name for the shop that I have not noticed being used as "Omelette House." Another health report in Jan for Ava's Desserts lists the owner as "MEXKOR, INC."
The 2014 July report gives the name for Ava's Desserts as "Omelette House"
with JUAN ORIGEL as the owner. Somewhere between then and the time this
article was published, it appears that there has been some issues with
the ownership of the store. Is the new owners also local? Also, why is this not mentioned when the story pleads with people to support Juan and his local store?

You are making some HUGE assumptions from your amateur reading of the county health reports!

Perhaps you should work on improving your own knowledge before criticizing others.

If you read the reports in jan/feb 2015, it explicitly mentions the change of ownership and that the new owner will not make changes now and must provide food handling certifications for all food employees within a week. It gives his name, and lists one report as "Ownership change." This means that Juan is no longer the owner since a different name is given. MEXKOR is Juan and his wife, but this name disappears after Jan 2015. At the very least this suggests that someone is financing the store, even if Juan is still in charge and running it, and that that that other person now has ownership of the store. My comment is that the story should mention what is going on that the county is listing a ownership change and how is this related to the store's financial difficulties?
Who is Augustin Garcia?

There are many small businesses quietly struggling WITHOUT subsidies form the city. Consumers vote with their pocketbooks. The question is how much MORE money is the city willing to dump into this place that customers just don't want to patronize.
Those who say "It's great" better step up to the plate with their wallet, because the people who don't think it's great have no intention of doing that, and the population of non-customers seems to be growing.

I don't know what "local shopper"'s problem is, or why he/she got a bee in the bonnet, but "local shopper" is posting irrelevant, unnecessary straw-man speculations -- reading tea leaves -- instead of shopping at Ava'a and seeing the reality as thousands of people do.

I've shopped at Ava's regularly since it opened. Juan and Ann Origel (and sometimes other family members) are there daily; they own and operate the grocery as always. Early this year, another family business contracted with the Origels to take over the ready-to-eat ("Deli") part of the business, which has the kitchen (subject to health inspections). Those folk came from a background in similar deli operations and they have upped the "game" of Ava's fancy sandwich menu to the point that it is becoming a "destination" source of really exceptional sandwiches with high-quality ingredients. I talk to the husband (Augustin) about sandwich nuances, and he lights up with passion and holds forth about the crucial importance of having interesting sauces. THAT is the real story here!

ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IS READILY AVAILABLE and already known to people who actually shop at Ava's and ask questions, rather than just raising idle, ill-informed speculations on the Voice website.

Also, to those other people who continue intoning the knee-jerk mantra "many small businesses quietly struggling WITHOUT subsidies form the city" -- apparently without having read the clarifying comments in this and similar past Voice comment threads -- the actual point, or contrast, is just that the City did, already, spend hundreds of thousands in the past in attempted deals to attract general retailers (as well as entering into the joint venture with Long's, now CVS) -- much of which came from special funding sources for that purpose, as ALREADY thoroughly explained in comments above -- but when a general retail grocer did appear, precisely what the downtown needed and what all those past consultants had been paid big bucks yet failed to help produce, it happened -- deep irony -- WITHOUT any offered subsidies or joint City venture, it was the initiative of a hard-working family that is on the job every day, and certainly needs no instruction about the struggles of small businesses from any Town Square online amateur experts.