99 Ranch Parent Cuts 49 Jobs as Chino Food Hall Closes Nov. 15

Tawa Supermarket Inc., which operates 99 Ranch Market, will lay off 49 workers when its Chino bulk food warehouse and food hall closes Nov. 15, the company said in an Oct. 27 filing with California. The closure ends Cravings Food Village, a combined Asian food hall and warehouse grocery format the chain opened in 2018 at 4024 Grand Ave.

The Chino closure is part of a wider reduction. In an Oct. 26 filing with the state's Employment Development Department, Lily Mao, Tawa's director of human resources, said the Chino layoffs would take effect when the store shuts. Tawa has also announced plans to cut 54 jobs at a Pleasanton store that closes by Dec. 5. The filings were submitted under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires notice when an employer lays off more than 50 workers.

Cravings Food Village took over the former Food 4 Life grocery space at Chino Spectrum Marketplace. The location combined a warehouse-style supermarket selling Asian grocery items in bulk with a food hall that included multiple dining areas, a hot deli, and a Taiwanese bakery. A Tawa spokesperson did not respond to questions about whether the company is scaling back the Cravings concept, which it also runs in Eastvale. The company operates another 99 Ranch in Chino at 2959 Chino Ave., a little more than 2 miles from the site that is closing.

Tawa lists 24 99 Ranch Market stores in Southern California and 18 in Northern California, with employment ranging from 5,000 to 10,000, according to the company's LinkedIn page. Roger Chen, a Taiwanese immigrant, founded the chain in 1984. His daughter Alice Chen serves as chief executive officer and his son Jonson Chen is chairman.

The company faces a federal discrimination complaint. In June, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Tawa, alleging that non-Chinese store-level workers were passed over for promotions, paid less than Chinese counterparts, and scheduled for fewer hours. "As a result, some non-Chinese workers felt they had no choice but to resign," the EEOC said. A 10-page copy of the lawsuit indicated the alleged conduct may have started in 2015, when the vice president of human resources hired non-Chinese managers for district manager, store manager, and loss prevention roles; the agency said the company later terminated recently hired non-Chinese managers at multiple, unnamed locations.