Smart & Final announced today that all 33 lease locations it acquired in December 2015 are now open as Smart Final Extra! stores.
The re-opening of the 33 stores, which were operated under the Haggen banner, is allowing Smart & Final to make “significant strides” toward its goal of opening 100 new stores over the next four years, the company said in a statement from its headquarters in Commerce.
“In opening the 33 stores, Smart & Final has increased its presence in the important Los Angeles and Orange County markets, and doubled store count in the California Central Coast and San Diego,” it said.
Each store opening created more than 50 new jobs, with Smart Final hiring more than 1,900 associates to support the 33-store increase, it said.
In line with its promise to give back to the communities in which it operates, for each new store it opens the company’s charitable foundation made donations to local nonprofits, resulting in more than $140,000 in philanthropic donations, the statement said.