Pavilions Grand Re-Opening Scheduled

PHOTO: Bill Glazier | SouthPasadenan.com | Front of Pavilions grocery store on Fair Oaks Avenue in South Pasadena

For those of you who haven’t been by Pavilions in South Pasadena lately – there’s a LOT going on over there. Our familiar local grocery store has undergone a complete remodel and gorgeous facelift that has resulted in vastly wider aisles, a TON of new items (both food and non-food items), and an update to the front of the building and parking area to give it a more sleek, modern look.

You can experience the new Pavilions during the Grand Re-Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Wednesday, August 3rd at 9:00 a.m. There will be a 30-minute ceremony for the public that includes a ribbon cutting and some free sampling (if there are no COVID restrictions in place).

PHOTO: Kasper Tobias | SouthPasadenan.com | South Pasadena Pavilions Store Manager – Nicky Graham – in front of the store’s brand new Wine Cellar.

Some of the things I have noticed that make the store even more appealing since the update are:

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Self checkout – You can speed yourself out of the store via the new self checkout registers. It’s a familiar setup with a combination scanner and scale for your grocery items. It’s mostly intuitive – but you do occasionally have to look up items like fruits and vegetables that are purchased by weight. Most fruits and vegetables have a sticker on it that you can scan to make an easier checkout. Pro tip on self checkout – you can’t use the self checkout aisle if you are purchasing alcohol.

Updated Signage – Everything in the store is well labeled and easy to find. Each aisle has a list of the main categories of items found in that aisle. The various sub-sections of the store are now easier to see as well. For example the butcher area has a nice graphic presentation that tells you what that area of the store is about from a distance. There are also nice video displays with helpful information (like where your fish and meat are sourced) and professional graphics and video.

The Wider Aisles – It’s a joy to walk through a grocery without having to constantly navigate past other shoppers. The aisles in Pavilions are now big enough to see everything all the way down the aisle, and also to pause and look at items without feeling like you’re blocking anyone’s path through the store.

The Floors – To be honest I wasn’t really paying much attention to the floors at Pavilions until they were re-done. Wow. Just wow. It’s so nice to see some wood / engineered flooring worked in there as well. Of course they re-floored the entire store. It feels great to walk down the aisles now.

PHOTO: Kasper Tobias | SouthPasadenan.com | Detail of the new Wine Cellar showing the video display and wine.

The Alcohol Section – The selection of wines and spirits is considerably larger in the new store design. There is a dedicated “Wine Cellar” and a specialty liquor area for premium products. It’s a beautiful glass enclosure filled with a variety of libations. You can see right through to the products inside the glass. The Wine Cellar is for premium products and it is a secure area. The Liquor Manager and department associates are happy to let you in and can make recommendations throughout the department. The usual wines, beer and spirits now fill two aisles and you can pick up those items as usual.

And you can still use the Drive Up and Go service – place your order online and Pavilions will do the heavy lifting. They will bring your items out to your car and load it up.

Here are a few more of the features of the new Pavilions as provided by Wayne Heaton, General Manager and Vice President of Pavilions:

“In our Delicatessen, the expanded specialty cheese section is sure to impress. If you need help navigating the World of Cheese, just ask your dedicated cheese specialist! You’ll also find a newly added pizza station where we will craft you a custom-made pizza with fresh toppings and ingredients that we cook in-house!

Over in our Meat Department we now showcase Dry-Aged Beef, and also aged in-house, that our guests will love!

In the Patisserie you won’t believe your eyes with all the new additions! We have added a Chocolatier who makes specialty chocolates, barks, truffles and candies on-site. We will also offer warm cinnamon rolls and have an expanded specialty cake selection made by our talented designers.

In Produce you will find over 500 new organic items with an assortment of healthy snacks for our guests on the go.

In our Liquor Department we have added over 1,000 new wines from California and around the world to our selection. Be sure to check out the new Wine Cellar, with an amazing assortment of wines, including Burgundies, Bordeaux, Brunello, Barolo, local favorites, and hard to find wines. We also added over 500 Spirits to our selection including Bourbon, Whiskey, and Tequila!

To tie this all together, our store now has a Concierge available to our guests and local businesses to assist with party planning and catering orders! Our Concierge offers a “one-stop shop” when planning a party or event by taking the bakery order, deli party tray order, produce fresh cut order, flower order, and wine order without the guest traveling from department to department placing these orders themselves. Let us make your event stress-free! We will coordinate and deliver the orders to the guest!”.

Be sure to get out to the Grand Opening on Wednesday, August 3rd at 9:00 a.m. and let Pavilions know that we appreciate the upgrade to our city!

PHOTO: Kasper Tobias | SouthPasadenan.com | South Pasadena Pavilions Store Manager – Nicky Graham – beaming while standing on that new floor.

Derek Vaughan
Derek Vaughan is a contributing writer and local realtor specializing in South Pasadena. Known for his expert knowledge of digital marketing and the local real estate market, Derek has lived in South Pasadena for the past 20 years. Derek has also worked for the Walt Disney Company where he was responsible for digital marketing for both the ESPN.com properties and the NASCAR online store. He also holds degrees from the Indiana University School of Music, Purdue University and an MBA from Vanderbilt University.