99 Ranch Market shuts Chino food hall and cuts 49 jobs

Tawa Supermarket Inc. will close its Chino bulk food warehouse and food hall on Nov. 15, resulting in the layoff of 49 employees. The company disclosed the plan in a regulatory filing with the state of California on Oct. 27.

Lily Mao, director of human resources at Tawa, confirmed the timeline in a document submitted to the Employment Development Department on Oct. 26. The store is the first 99 Ranch Market location in the Inland Empire, occupying the former Food 4 Less space at 4024 Grand Ave. The format, known as Cravings Food Village, opened in 2018 and combined a warehouse-style Asian grocery store with a communal food hall featuring a hot deli and a Taiwanese bakery.

The chain is not exiting Chino entirely. It operates a second 99 Ranch Market store at 2959 Chino Ave, which is just over two miles from the closing location. A spokesperson for the Buena Park-based company did not respond to requests for comment regarding the closure or the future of the Cravings concept, which is also active in Eastvale.

The layoffs are part of a broader reduction in workforce. Tawa announced plans to cut 54 jobs at another store in Pleasanton, which will close by Dec. 5. These notices were required under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, which applies when an employer cuts more than 50 positions.

The parent company, founded in 1984 by Roger Chen, currently operates 24 stores in Southern California and 18 in Northern California. Leadership is now in the hands of Roger Chen’s children, Alice Chen as chief executive officer and Jonson Chen as chairman. The chain employs between 5,000 and 10,000 workers and specializes in Asian pantry goods, produce, and bakery items.

The closures come amid legal scrutiny. In June, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit alleging the company discriminated against non-Chinese workers. The suit claims the chain failed to promote non-Chinese employees, paid them less than their Chinese counterparts, and scheduled them for fewer hours. The EEOC stated that some non-Chinese workers resigned because they felt they had no other choice.

The lawsuit alleges the issues began in 2015 when a vice president of human resources hired non-Chinese managers for roles including district manager, store manager, and loss prevention. The agency said the company later terminated these recently hired managers at multiple unnamed locations following a leadership change.