O’Brien’s Market in Modesto’s Roseburg Square will close Sept. 26, although negotiations with a potential buyer are ongoing and it could continue as another store, according to a written notice given Friday to employees.
“Although the company is hopeful that a sale can be completed, no final agreement has been reached, and there can be no assurance,” reads the notice.
The notice, obtained by The Modesto Focus, does not address the other Modesto O’Brien’s in the two-store chain, at 4120 Dale Rd. Store workers on break said they were instructed not to speak with members of the media.
The locally-owned supermarket chain’s Vice President Bill O’Brien said in a text to The Modesto Focus that he cannot comment until Wednesday.
He signed the notice to employees, which directs employees with questions to contact him.
Modesto social media rumor mill working overtime
The notice touched off a social media firestorm of speculation – and waves of nostalgia – for a beloved family-owned institution of more than 47 years. Two years ago the chain closed its Riverbank store, which was sold and became a Cost Less.
“How sad to lose such an iconic store,” said one customer in a post.
“A store that’s been around forever is part of what gives Roseburg Square its charm,” said another.
The notice appears to conform to requirements of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act required by the federal government for prospective mass lay-offs. It lists 50 employees at the O’Brien’s Market at 839 W. Roseburg Ave., which opened in 1987.
The shopping center, Roseburg Square, opened in 1956, featured a small zoo six decades ago and now is home to several businesses including Yogurt Mill, Taqueria El Compadre, Bookish and Laughing Crow Collectibles. Roseburg Square went up for sale on commercial real estate sites in August 2024 but no longer is listed.
O’Brien’s was established in 1978 by Chuck O’Brien, Bill O’Brien’s father, at Orangeburg and Ardmor avenues in Modesto. The store moved to Roseburg Square in 1987, and other locations followed, in Riverbank in 1994 and Dale Road in 2002.
Bill O’Brien is a former Riverbank mayor and former Stanislaus County supervisor. Richard O’Brien, also a former Riverbank mayor, was a store employee before retiring.
Bill O’Brien now serves as chairman of the Workforce Development Board of Stanislaus County – the very agency cited in O’Brien’s notice to employees as the place to turn for retraining laid-off workers and for help with job searches.
Company slogans include “The best place for fresh!” and “Always here for you!”
Garth Stapley is the accountability reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the nonprofit Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact him at garth@themodestofocus.org.