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Albertsons to re-open Rancho Bernardo store on March 2

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Three local businesses — Albertsons, Phil’s BBQ and Valvoline Instant Oil Change — are hiring new employees.

Albertsons will reopen next week with a Rancho Bernardo store layout very similar to the one it had about a year ago.

The 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 2 “grand re-opening” will include specials for the coming four weeks, said Store Director Daryl Foster, adding coupons will be mailed to Rancho Bernardo and Poway residents.

Even though layout for the store at 12475 Rancho Bernardo Road will be familiar to shoppers, Foster said it will still have “a fresh look” and expanded departments, including floral, bakery, produce and deli.

“We will have a much improved wine/liquor section,” he said, adding the kosher section will also be expanded.

The store’s final look will be a work-in-progress for the first couple months. Foster said about four weeks after opening some small remodeling will commence, occurring overnight.

It will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

Though there were rumors that the new Rancho Bernardo Albertsons would be different from the Albertsons it was prior to being converted into a Haggen’s grocery store last year, Foster said that is not the case. “It will be a traditional Albertsons, with a pharmacy,” he said.

“We’ve hired back many of our associates from when it was Albertsons and Haggen’s,” he said. “More than one-third we re-hired or transferred back.”

Foster was previously at the Poway store, which was not included when Albertsons — now part of Vons/Safeway — bought back some of its former stores once Haggen’s financial troubles forced it to close most stores it purchased last spring during a massive expansion. The Rancho Bernardo and Poway Albertsons were among those Albertsons initially had to give up once it merged with Vons around a year ago.

The Rancho Bernardo store has around 90 employees and Foster said he would like to have around 100 by opening. He is still hiring. For an application, go to Albertsons.com and click on “careers.”

Across the street from Albertsons, Valvoline Instant Oil Change opened on Feb. 10 at 12472 Rancho Bernardo Road, said Manager Charlie Pratt. It replaced RB Oil Change.

Pratt said no appointment is necessary, with service provided within 10 to 15 minutes while drivers wait.

It is open from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. The business is also hiring additional employees.

Pratt said the business will have a grand opening celebration in the near future.

Phil’s BBQ is holding a hiring fair from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. this week at its new restaurant under construction at 17051 W. Bernardo Drive in Rancho Bernardo. Applicants are welcome to show up with résumés. Management is hiring cashiers, cooks, prep cooks, grillers, bussers, bartenders and other employees, said spokeswoman Melinda Leonard.

The restaurant — in the former Elephant Bar location — is scheduled to open in late March, she said, adding a soft opening and grand opening are planned. To get on the notification list, send an email to emailus@philsbbq.net.

Leonard said sustainability has been the focus of work at the new 7,720-square-foot restaurant, with eco-friendly attributes like LED lighting, solar tubes, high efficiency fryers and dual-glazed windows.

“(Its) water reclamation system … will repurpose the byproduct water created as a result of reverse osmosis purification,” she said. “With this system, Phil’s BBQ will pump the previously wasted gallons of water up into a storage tank and use that water to flush toilets and irrigate the new drought tolerant landscape.”

The restaurant, part of a San Diego chain, will offer lunch, dinner, catering plus a full bar featuring local microbrewery and specialty cocktail options. Its meeting space will accommodate 80 people, with fruit and pastries available for early morning meetings, Leonard said.

“We have searched high and low for a spot convenient to Rancho Bernardo, Poway, Mira Mesa and 4S Ranch,” said owner Phil Pace. “We are confident we have found a perfect fit.”

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