Save Mart Resurrecting Bay Area Lucky stores

MODESTO, Calif. The venerable Lucky supermarket banner will return to the Bay Area this summer when Save Mart Supermarkets converts 72 Albertson’s stores to the Lucky brand.

Save Mart plans to have the stores remodeled by the end of September and bring back popular programs that Lucky pioneered, including “Max Pak” and “Three’s a Crowd,” which requires stores to open a new checkout line if there are more than three people in line. Stores will be closed for two days during the remodels.

“Bringing Lucky back to the Bay Area consumer is a great responsibility,” said Bob Spengler, president of Save Mart Supermarkets. “Even after all these years, the Lucky name carries with it a great deal of consumer equity.”

Lucky was a retail institution in California until 1999 when Albertson’s converted the stores to its banner. Earlier this year, Save Mart acquired 130 Albertson’s stores and exclusive rights to the Lucky name, paving the way for the banner’s return.