GROCER SHOPPING CUSTOMERS OPTING FOR ETHNIC MARKETS' TAILORED OFFERINGS.

Byline: Candice Choi Staff Writer

Reseda resident Denise Ramos can find the tomatillos and specific cuts of meat she needs for a Mexican dinner at a nearby Vallarta Supermarket while her three boys are kept quiet with some pan dulces from the bakery.

``I can do all my shopping here - I live 10 minutes away.''

Ethnic supermarkets today are a far cry from the hole-in-the-wall bodegas and cramped mom-and-pop grocers many Asians and Latinos visited in their youth. Rapidly expanding chains like 99 Ranch and Gigante are redefining the shopping excursions of these families with slick meat counters, lively seafood sections and more locations.

With grown-up Indian, Persian and Asian stores offering specialized goods at low prices around every corner, shoppers such as Mai D'Errico say they hardly ever find themselves shopping the ``International foods'' aisle at mainstream chains.

``It might be OK for mainstream customers, but if you're Asian you need a lot more,'' said D'Errico, who goes to 99 Ranch for a particular brand of Chinese soy drink she grew up drinking.

It's no surprise that ethnic grocers are expanding and rolling out new locations as Vons, Albertsons and Ralphs struggle to regain footing in the aftermath of the grocery workers strike.

The difficulty for a chain like Vons - which operates 326 locations throughout Southern California - is that it doesn't have the same level of flexibility to meet the constantly changing demands of the area's teeming stew of cultures, said Phil Lawrence, senior vice president of operations at Superior Super Warehouse, which markets in ethnic neighborhoods.

``When you have a great big corporation, they send out a basic format and they're not sure how to adapt to certain areas,'' Lawrence said. ``You take a buyer who's ordering for all those stores, and it's hard to differ the products.''

The major chains are responding to the challenge, though.

Vons spokeswoman Sandra Calderon said the company is looking to expand its Hispanic food options. The company recently brought brands like Juanita and El Tapitio into its stores.

Merchandising is also slightly tailored in locations where there is a large population of Latinos - but whether the store can dedicate an ethnic foods aisle depends on how big the store is, Calderon said.

Albertsons representative Lilia Rodriguez declined to comment on the ethnic marketing the company is pursuing. Representatives of Ralphs did not return calls.

Ethnic markets are flourishing, said Julia Huang, president of interTrend, a marketing firm based in Long Beach.

``A lot of Asian food is very specific,'' said Huang. ``There are a lot of things you just don't see in the chain stores.''

The same applies to product selection at Latino markets and other speciality stores.

Soon after opening in early 2002, Super Sal's Kosher Market in Encino captured a loyal following among the West Valley's Jewish population with its broad selection of all things kosher.

Meanwhile, Ralphs announced the closure of 15 underperforming stores because of declining sales this spring. The closures - mostly in Southern California - were not related to the grocery workers strike, company representatives have said.

In their place, ethnic markets such as Superior Super Warehouse and El Super are sprouting up. Superior Super began as a single store in Compton in 1982, but has since mushroomed to 18 locations. Its newest location opened just this year in North Hollywood, and five more openings are planned before the end of next year.

Much of Superior Super Warehouse's success is a result of its ability to adapt to specific locations, Lawrence said. The Hacienda Heights location is tailored to the Asian market, for example, while the store in Pacoima jumps with a Hispanic flavor.

``They tell us what cuts of meat and what types of produce people want,'' Lawrence said.

Candice Choi, [phone]

candice.choi(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) The signs at a 99 Ranch store are in Chinese and English, a growing trend among grocers catering to ethnic shoppers.

(2 -- color) Eduardo Paniza and his granddaughter Sofia Paniza, 7, shop at 99 Ranch in Van Nuys on Friday. Ethnic-oriented grocers, like 99 Ranch and Vallarta Supermarkets, are evolving beyond small corner stores into supermarkets.

(3 -- color) Setiarty Djohan shops Friday at the 99 Ranch in Van Nuys, which carries a wide variety of ``international'' foods.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

(4 -- color) Vallarta Supermarkets is one of the growing number of grocery chains that offers specialty items for minority shoppers - part of a move to adapt to the growing multiculturalism of America.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

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ETHNIC MARKET FINDS

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