By Nick Casey
 joe hu/town crier Susan Remba browses the kosher aisles at Albertsons on Grant Road in Los Altos. |
Five months after Albertsons opened a kosher foods section in its Los Altos store, employees are remarking on its success.
“It’s been quite popular,” said Quyen Ha, an Albertsons spokeswoman. “I’ve heard of families coming from as far as Marin and Los Gatos.”
Albertsons is one of only a few national chains on the West Coast to supply select branches with specifically designated kosher foods. Since the beginning of this year, three aisles in the Los Altos store have been stocked with more than 2,000 products with the highest levels of kosher certification.
The kosher section officially opened in December 2005, but Ha said plans had begun to form during the two previous years.
“There was a lot involved,” she said. “A lot of the products come from the East Coast and New York, and we have to transport them over 3,000 miles.”
To tailor the section’s needs to the local Jewish community, Albertsons teamed up with a focus group of about 35 residents led by Los Altan Jacqueline Bocian and Rabbi Yitzchok Feldman of Congregation Emek Beracha in Palo Alto. Los Altos was proposed as the site because of its own Jewish community, several nearby Jewish schools and the large Orthodox population of Palo Alto.
Albertsons stocks more modest kosher offerings at other branches. Customers looking for a selection to compare with the Los Altos branch will have to look far - Las Vegas is the next-closest store that offers an equivalent.
In addition to the Los Altos Albertsons, Mollie Stone’s Market in Palo Alto presents locals with a range of kosher products.
More offerings may be on the way. In the meantime, Ha said, the national Albertsons chain strives to tailor its grocery selection to local communities.
“We are always trying to customize our products to the neighborhoods that we’re in,” she said. “This is an important part of our promise.”
Albertsons is located at 3175 Grant Road in Los Altos. For more information, call 969-1326.
