‘Speciality Grocery Store’ coming to old Mervyn’s Building?

In Josh Premako’s interesting article on retail vacancies valley-wide, he writes:

An anchor space for the River Oaks shopping center at Magic Mountain Parkway and Auto Center Drive, the building has been empty since Mervyns closed in late 2008.

Crawford said a third of the building has been leased for a “specialty grocery store” and the property owners are in negotiations with potential tenants for the rest of the building.

And all the SCV foodies ears perked up. Who could it be?

For awhile some people have wanted a Fresh ‘n Easy in town. But Tesco, the UK-Based owner of Fresh ‘n Easy, is reportedly losing massive amounts of money on its California stores. We already have a Bristol Farms, and Trader Joe’s just completed its move, so who might this be? I suppose Costs Plus World Market could be considered a “specialty grocery store” . What about Gelson’s? Or an ethnic grocer, like Galleria? Pavillion’s and Whole Foods Market are nearby so either of those stores wouldn’t make sense.

Premako also says that 10-15 businesses have applied for permits to operate in the Patios, the 200,000 sq. ft. expansion to the mall. There are some 40 retail spaces available there.