Navy News, news from Iraq - Navy Times

Plus-sized commissary to open in San Diego

SAN DIEGO — Shoppers, get your carts and coupons ready.

The military’s largest commissary was set to open to customers Friday, at a super-early time of 7 a.m. after a short ribbon-cutting ceremony with Navy and Defense Commissary Agency officials.

Dubbed the “store of the future,” the commissary at the San Diego Naval Base — aka 32nd Street — will offer more space, more products, more food and more checkout lines.

The store will be open 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day.

Larger produce and meat sections are part of the 75,000 square feet of sales space — an area covering nearly two acres — that military shoppers will get to peruse. There, they will find more selections and more brand-name items than they’ve had in DoD commissaries, said DeCA spokeswoman Nancy O’Nell. The San Diego store will also boast larger selections of specialty foods, especially in Asian and Hispanic cuisine.

Another 50,000 square feet of warehouse space will enable a constant stocking of shelves and floor space.

Savings remain the same, since products sold in military commissaries sell for 5 percent above the cost — an average savings of 30 percent over products at local stores, according to DeCA.

The store will boast some self-service checkout lanes and a separate entrance for a “Grab-n-Go” section designed for convenience items and a cooking-demonstration area aimed at promoting healthful eating and nutrition.

All that new space, though, doesn’t yet come with extra parking, so shoppers should expect a tight squeeze during the morning rush and peak shopping hours, and especially on opening day.

The “old” commissary, one of 23 in California, eventually will be razed to make room for a larger exchange.