By Jillian Butler
Ocean Beach residents are once again grappling with the consequences of corporate overreach. As many long-time OBceans have feared, the Target Express at 4864 Newport Avenue is backtracking on the assurances made to both Ocean Beach residents and business owners. In 2017, Target applied for ownership of the building formerly housing the Newport Avenue Antique Center.
According to NBC 7:
The store is part of Target’s master plan to open what it calls “small-format stores” in urban areas and in dense suburban neighborhoods – namely places where a full-size Target store may not fit. These smaller stores aim to offer an assortment of products that cater specifically to the community in which the store stands.
Wit
h Ocean Beach’s historical opposition to large corporate franchises and diverse array of small businesses, this was met with stark opposition from the community back in 2017. A petition against the Target garnered over 2,600 signatures. Local print shop, James Gang, sold “No Target in OB” shirts. Ocean Beach Town Council meetings were filled to the brim with community members opposing a mega corporation on one of Ocean Beach’s liveliest streets. Crowds of concerned OBceans gathered on Newport Avenue to protest the installation. One resident even traveled to the Target headquarters in Minnesota to demonstrate against the Target Express.
Despite overwhelming opposition from the Ocean Beach community, Target Express opened its doors on Newport Avenue in 2019. However, Target’s opening was not without conditions. Initially, the store had to close by 5 PM. Additionally, the store could not sell alcohol, garden equipment, or hardware. These measures were to keep Target from detracting sales from nearby small businesses such as Ocean Beach Hardware Store and Newport Farms Liquor. Unfortunately, the Target Express has not honored these agreements.
As of now, the store is open until 10 PM, five hours later than the agreed upon closing time. Though Ocean Beach’s off-site liquor sales locations are over saturated by approximately 300%, Target applied for a liquor license in 2024. This application was declined. Against their prior agreements, there is currently a seasonal garden center and a year-round hardware section. According to several employees and local shop owners, Target Express plans to reapply for a liquor license.
The presence of mega corporations endanger Ocean Beach and the small businesses that are its lifeblood. A manager at Ocean Beach Hardware claimed that the store did not even place orders for Christmas lights this year “because they still have leftover stock from last year as everyone just buys them at Target or Amazon”.
Target’s small-format model was sold as a neighborhood fit, but when corporate convenience undercuts local livelihoods and quietly expands into restricted product lines and hours, it reveals the real cost of concession without enforcement. City officials and regulatory bodies must hold corporations accountable to the conditions they negotiated; residents should document violations and demand transparency about any new licensing applications. Meanwhile, this holiday season, OBceans can vote with their wallets and support the local businesses that are the lifeblood of the community.
As we gear up for the holiday parade , a symbol and reminder of all the things that make OB special, let’s not take all that we hold dear about OB for granted. In my humble opinion. OB stands as long as its little hardware store stands …let’s not forget to fight for it
I have to say that this article makes no sense. Is the Rag (which I love dearly) sinking to click-bait? After reading the article, what I ended up with as the takeaway is that there is rumor that Target may again apply for an alcohol sales license. Rest assured that if they apply for the license, many OB residents (yours truly included) will file protests with the ABC opposing the license. There are a lot more serious threat that OB is currently facing, than a possibility that Target might apply for an alcohol sales license.
Much more to the article than Target re-applying for a liquor license. The article sheds light on how large companies often fail to meet the public’s expectations of operating in good faith, abiding by agreed-upon conditions when operating in areas that support and encourage small business ventures.
Craig, your comment is overly harsh. That application for an alcohol license was from 2024 — and I don’t recall you filing any protests with the ABC. Plus, honestly, I don’t recall you being involved in the anti-Target campaign either — which obviously ultimately failed. But for a while, hundreds, if not thousands, of OBceans and Point Lomans expressed their opposition. You can disagree with that campaign but don’t put the Rag down because an article goes against your narrative.
Frank: I’m nearly certain I filed a protest. I remember the promise they made about no alcohol sales, when the store was before the Planning Board.
Craig filed a protest, I know this because he reminded me to as well.
Target would be stupid to sell alcohol, it will bring so much theft and dangerous people to their business, like Rite Aid had to deal with.
Thanks mucho for your input, KH, and your memories.
Hi Craig,
Thank you for your feedback. I’m sorry that you feel this is clickbait. I personally consider a mega-corporation going against its promises to our community and endangering local businesses to be a pertinent topic to write about. However, I appreciate your feedback nonetheless as I am always striving to be a better reporter.
No surprises here. I have boycotted all Targets ever since they invaded OB. Why would they honor their word? They make up lies to get into the community and then don’t follow through. Pretty standard corporate behavior…
BOYCOTT TARGET WORLWIDE!!!!
I am confused. So these “conditions” were not binding? If they were, is it the City’s job to enforce them? It seems there is a history of unenforceable agreements the City enters into (the ones mentioned in this article, promises of low-income housing in so many ridiculous (over)development projects, etc.). Very frustrating…
OB as part of a city could not insist on, enforce any extra-legal restrictions, etc except to have a good-faith agreement between the corporation and community leaders. OB doesn’t even have building requirements, like La Jolla — although the OBPB tried back in the early days of this century to instill via their annual ballot several proposals having to do with the physical appearance of new businesses. They all failed.
In terms of retail and the average consumer, Ocean Beach is lucky to have a small Target store on Newport Avenue! The OB Rag article ignores the enormous benefits that the store brings to the neighborhood. And judging by the thousands of people who shop there everyday, including me, anti-Target sentiment is now a tiny minority of the community. It should be remembered that the building occupied by Target originally housed a Cornet five-and-dime store. It remained so for decades. Cornet was a type of chain store that was a precursor to Target and the other big names in the sector today. From what I remember, there were at least eighty Cornet stores California and Hawaii. My mother took me to the OB Cornet in the 1950s. To a child, it was a wonderland! (No pun intended!) In 1965, there were eighteen Cornet stores in San Diego County. (During the Sixties, Cornet’s Annual 10-Cent sale featured items like garden tools, screw drivers, “framed pictures,” ladies’ hairbrushes, and earrings for only a dime each!!!) To reiterate: Target is the historical successor to Cornet. So what’s the big deal? (I loved the previous tenant–the antique mall–but a Target is more useful to me personally and makes my life so much easier!) That’s progress! Not only that, in general, Target’s prices are reasonable for today, and the OB Target often hires locals and others who are minorities or who are “edgy” in ways that would make it difficult for them to find employment elsewhere. The company compensates them well, too! Target’s merchandise and groceries are decent quality, the store is impeccably clean, and I really appreciate the fact that it opens early and closes late! So convenient! I’ve heard through the grapevine that the store loses a ton money through shoplifting, so life for Target in OB isn’t great, either! Oh, and one more thing: If Target doesn’t carry an item I’m looking for, they never fail to refer me to the closest local business that does. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been directed by Target employees to the hardware store across the street, or to other retail establishments in the neighborhood!
I like having Target here too, but they should have kept the promises they made that are mentioned in the article.
I like having the Targets we have in both North Park and South Park. They haven’t put any ma and pa establishments out of business and I’m pretty sure the OB target won’t either.
“And judging by the thousands of people who shop there everyday …”
Really?
A little perspective. Target exactly replaces the location’s original 50s/60s business, Cornet. a national chain variety store which, with Rexall, Thom McAns, and many other big brands, peacefully coexisted alongside other beloved shops.
Ponder this: You only have to replace three letters to change CORNET to TARGET.
I used to go to cornet as a kid. But OB changed dramacily when all the local stores turned into antique/junk stores. I used to go to movies at the cornet…now its full of dead seahorses. So many mom and pop stores left. Ahh the good old days. I loved target moving in as I don’t buy daily antiques.
F*ck Target, they do not belong in OB. The sports arena store is enough.
IMO the culprits are the building owners who priced out prior tenants/businesses so they could no longer afford to operate. Now we are stuck with a bunch of bars, etc. things/places which are not very unique or interesting.
On another note…did anyone get notified which Newport Optometry got sold or that the the Optometrists left? Need some competition in the Eye Glass department in OB-maybe something for Target to consider.
Yes indeed. We need more info on the Newport Optometrists.
Since Target moved in, my values have changed. I am HAPPY to see Target there instead of facing a proposed 22-story residential building with 10 parking spaces for 290 units. I would like to see more information about their 2024 application for a Liquor License. “Declined” is a very unusual word with the ABC. Does anyone have a copy of that application or notifications required to be sent to nearby residents? From above article: “… Target applied for a liquor license in 2024. This application was declined.” Thank you.
Target lied to the community at their first community meeting, claiming it was for feedback and “there was nothing in writing” but they in fact already had a signed lease.
The 5pm closing was due to the parking spots being leased by South Beach after 5pm. Once they found replacement spots, Target could stay open longer. And I’m pretty sure CVS sells more hardware items than Target. There was nothing in writing or otherwise prohibiting them from competing with anyone. Their rep did make some general promises about hardware sales, that it would consist off small stuff like hooks and hangers and things for assembling their crappy furniture or hanging pictures and patching holes, which is pretty much what they have.
Also I think it would be a poor business decision for them to sell alcohol. It’ll cost them more than it’s worth in theft and security issues.
When I first bought a house in South Park, there was no Home Depot (had to wait til 1986) and no Target (1983, replaced the FedMart we had to drive to). To purchase the things I needed required paying pretty high prices at a local SP hardware store or driving way south to the FedMart. The last time I ran into the local SP hardware store to get something I needed urgently for a project, the price for the item was outrageous. I politely said so, to the owner, who turned on me viciously and ordered me out of the store. So glad to have Target and Home Depot. Paying ridiculously high prices to local owners of tiny stores in order to support their lifestyle doesn’t work for me. Things change.