99 Ranch Market to Cut 49 Jobs as Chino Food Hall Closes November 15

Shoppers in Chino will lose access to a combined Asian warehouse market and food hall later this month, taking 49 jobs with it. Tawa Supermarket Inc., the Buena Park company behind the 99 Ranch Market chain, filed notices with California regulators on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27 to close the Cravings Food Village at 4024 Grand Ave. The location is scheduled to cease operations on Nov. 15.

The layoffs are part of a wider reduction in the company's workforce. Tawa also announced it will eliminate 54 positions at a Pleasanton location closing by Dec. 5. Both actions were reported under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which mandates advance notice when an employer cuts more than 50 staff members.

Lily Mao, Tawa's director of human resources, confirmed the Chino closure date in the filing submitted to the state's Employment Development Department. The company has not responded to inquiries regarding the closure or the future of its food hall concept, which remains active in Eastvale.

The Chino location opened in 2018, taking over a former Food 4 Less grocery store. The format combined a hot deli, dining spaces, and a Taiwanese bakery with bulk sales of Asian pantry goods, produce, fish, and meat. Despite the closure of this specific site, 99 Ranch Market will maintain a presence in the city; another store operates just over two miles away at 2959 Chino Ave.

Tawa was established in 1984 by Roger Chen, a Taiwanese immigrant. The company is now led by his children, Alice Chen as chief executive officer and Jonson Chen as chairman. The chain lists 24 stores in Southern California and 18 in Northern California, and job networking site LinkedIn estimates its workforce at between 5,000 and 10,000 employees.

The company currently faces a discrimination lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in June. The federal agency alleges Tawa has paid non-Chinese workers less than their Chinese counterparts, scheduled them for fewer hours, and passed them over for promotions. According to the EEOC's 10-page complaint, these issues may have started in 2015 following a leadership change and the subsequent termination of newly hired non-Chinese managers across multiple locations.