La Verne's Foothill Boulevard Errands Now Run Around One Empty Corner

The block numbers on Foothill Boulevard explain most of what changed in La Verne this fall. A FedEx Office opened at 1335 Foothill in August. A Grocery Outlet held its grand opening at 1504 Foothill on September 29, in The Commons at La Verne, the same shopping center that has Vons. A Mediterranean restaurant opened at 1548 Foothill, near that Vons, in September. At 1400 Foothill, in the middle of that run of addresses, the Carl's Jr. has closed. Its property also takes in the former Rite Aid.

Earlier this year we wrote about how Old Town La Verne's storefronts filled up with small wellness and personal-care businesses. Foothill had a different kind of fall. On roughly a two-hundred-number stretch, it gained places for groceries and printing, and it lost a fast-food drive-thru on the same property as the former Rite Aid. So this fall the everyday errand stops ended up closer together, with empty buildings right in the middle.

The Commons Now Has Two Grocery Stores

In September 2025, the La Verne Planning Commission approved a grocery store at 1504 Foothill Boulevard, along with general alcohol sales for off-site consumption. The signs were up by early July 2026. La Verne Daily News reported in mid-July that the owner-operator was tentatively planning to open in September.

Then the opening slipped. The grand-opening celebration was first set for Thursday, September 24. Mandatory evacuations during the Weymouth battery fire forced a postponement. Once the evacuation order was lifted, the store planned a soft opening at noon on Friday, September 25, La Verne Daily News reported. The grand opening followed on Tuesday, September 29.

The store is open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. It's in the same shopping center as Vons, so The Commons now has two grocery stores. If you compare prices, one stop at The Commons now covers both. That makes this center the hub for the rest of the stretch.

The Commons also showed this fall that a new opening doesn't always last. Zata Healthy Mediterranean Food opened at 1548 Foothill, near Vons, and La Verne Daily News announced it in September as a new spot for falafel. By October 21, a notice on the door said it was closed until further notice. That leaves the center with both a new grocery store and a quiet restaurant space.

Walking the Stretch, Block by Block

Put the fall's changes in order by address and you can see how they bunch up. Here is the run from the lowest number to the highest:

1. 1335 Foothill Blvd., FedEx Office Print & Ship Center. It opened in August with three employees. Store manager Jonathan Greene planned a grand-opening celebration for October 13 with giveaways and a raffle for a free 3-by-5-foot banner.
2. 1400 Foothill Blvd., the former Carl's Jr. It's officially closed, and that part of the property also includes the former Rite Aid.
3. 1504 Foothill Blvd., Grocery Outlet at The Commons at La Verne. Open daily, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
4. 1548 Foothill Blvd., Zata Healthy Mediterranean. It opened near Vons in September, and as of October 21 a door notice said it was closed until further notice.

In about two hundred street numbers, you can ship a package, print a banner, and choose between two grocery stores. The empty buildings at 1400 sit between the print shop and the grocery stores.

Farther Up Foothill, Different Morning Stops

The 2000 block of Foothill had its own changes, and they were about where you get a morning drink or a sit-down breakfast.

I.V. Juice Bar at 2320 Foothill Blvd. closed on October 4 after five years. It still has a location in Rancho Cucamonga. In September, La Verne Daily News reported that Los Jarritos Cafe Y Cocina was officially open at 2080 Foothill Blvd. in the La Verne Plaza shopping area. The listed hours were Wednesday through Saturday starting at 8 a.m., closed Sunday. The paper said the cafe brings an expanded menu to La Verne. Those were the only hours reported, so check before you plan a Monday or Tuesday visit.

If you're after a drink in Old Town, Moowee Crafted Drinks & Teas at 2320 D St. was in a soft opening this summer, with 20% off and a grand opening to be announced later. It has the same street number as the old juice bar, just on D Street instead of Foothill.

Off Foothill, Arrow Highway gained a butcher. Larios Meat Market, a family-owned market at 1912 Arrow Hwy., held its grand opening on September 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with music and free tacos, limited to two per person. Grocery Outlet and Vons on Foothill plus a meat market on Arrow give La Verne more places to buy food in town than it had at the start of summer.

Here's how the fall's changes look side by side:

What Could Fill 1400 Foothill

With the grocery stores, the print shop, and the farther-out cafe all open, the biggest open question on this part of Foothill is the space between them.

The Carl's Jr. at 1400 Foothill Blvd. has officially closed. In an email cited by La Verne Daily News, Director of Community Development Eric Scherer said the property owner had expected to get the building back as late as November. The owner is weighing two paths for that part of the property, which includes the former Rite Aid. One is finding long-term tenants for the empty buildings. The other is redeveloping that portion of the site.

Either way, the site sits between the new FedEx Office and a Commons that now has two grocery stores. Down the street, Grocery Outlet gives a sense of how long these things take: the Planning Commission approved it in September 2025, and the store opened about a year later.

As of the October 21 report, no plans for 1400 Foothill Blvd. had been finalized.

A shopping corner that changes hands can affect the blocks around it for years, and we follow Foothill Boulevard as closely as we follow home sales in La Verne. If you live near this stretch and want to talk about how the changes could affect your street, The Mark & Al Team is happy to share what we're seeing. Request a free home valuation or consultation whenever it helps.