Rocklin residents cut off from Food Source

On June 16, the Rocklin Food Source grocery store closed its doors for good.Why that happened, however, is uncertain.The official line from Raley's, which owns the Food Source chain, is that the Rocklin store was no longer in a growing population area."There's more growth between Rocklin and Lincoln," said Nicole Townsend, the company's spokeswoman. The Bel Air and Raley's stores within that area were doing better than the Food Source, and people had moved away from the area in Rocklin where it was located. Of the more than 140 stores Raley's owns across three states, Food Source is the smallest franchise with only six stores, Townsend said. Food Source stores have a style designed to promote lower food costs with fewer services and emphasis on the warehouse format, similar to WinCo. The original Food Source that opened in Folsom in 1994 closed in March this year. Townsend said the company has no plans to close other Food Source stores.Don Marsh, who was the produce manager at the Rocklin store, said people were sad to see the store go."We were a pillar in the community for so long," he said.Marsh was transferred to the Food Source on Mack Road in Sacramento. He was able to keep his job as produce manager.Connie Wiede, a resident in the area around the Food Source, said she was upset to see them go. The service of other stores, including the Super Wal-Mart near the edge of Rocklin and Roseville, just isn't as good, she said."I really liked that store," she said.