THOUSAND OAKS : Grocery Stores Get OK to Stay Open Late

Two grocery stores on Avenida de los Arboles in Thousand Oaks have been given city permission to stay open until midnight, but their customers probably won’t notice the change.

For years, the Vons and Albertson’s stores--located within one block of each other between Route 23 and Erbes Road--have opened for business at 6 a.m. and closed at midnight, without city approval.

According to the city’s Planning Department, Albertson’s had been required to close at 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and midnight the rest of the week. Vons was supposedly on a tighter schedule, open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The difference came to light after a complaint was filed with the department over the operating hours.

Commissioners, some of whom said they shopped at the two stores at night, said granting the extended operating hours served the community.

“A reality of life today is that people lead extremely busy lives, and they have to shop at off-hours,” said Chairwoman Marilyn Carpenter. “This is a way to accommodate them. . . . I think it is of convenience to more people than just the Carpenter family.”

Approving the same hours for both stores, commissioners added, would make sure neither one had an unfair advantage.