49 Workers Face Layoffs as 99 Ranch Market Closes Chino Food Hall

Tawa Supermarket Inc. is closing its Chino bulk food warehouse and food hall.

The company filed with California regulators on Oct. 27 to notify 49 employees of their upcoming termination. The Chino location, known as a Cravings Food Village, opened in 2018. It occupied space at 4024 Grand Ave. previously held by Food 4 Less. The store combined a warehouse-style Asian supermarket with a communal food hall. This format included multiple dining areas, a hot deli, and a Taiwanese bakery.

Lily Mao, the company's director of human resources, confirmed the timeline in an Oct. 26 filing with the state's Employment Development Department. The layoffs will take effect when the store closes on Nov. 15. Tawa operates a second 99 Ranch Market in Chino, located at 2959 Chino Ave. A spokesperson for the Buena Park-based chain did not respond to requests for comment regarding the closure. The company also operates a similar Cravings location in Eastvale.

The Chino filing is part of a broader reduction in workforce across the state. Tawa also announced plans to cut 54 jobs at a store in Pleasanton. That location is scheduled to close by Dec. 5. These actions fall under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN. The law requires employers to provide advance notice when more than 50 employees are laid off.

The 99 Ranch Market brand was founded in 1984 by Roger Chen, a Taiwanese immigrant. His children, CEO Alice Chen and Chairman Jonson Chen, now lead the company. The chain specializes in Asian pantry goods, produce, meat, and bakery items. Tawa currently operates 24 stores in Southern California and 18 in Northern California. The company employs between 5,000 and 10,000 workers, according to LinkedIn data.

These closures follow a federal lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in June. The EEOC alleged that Tawa discriminated against non-Chinese store-level employees. The complaint stated that the company failed to promote non-Chinese workers, paid them less than their Chinese counterparts, and scheduled them for fewer hours. The agency claimed these practices began in 2015 after a leadership change. The suit noted that the company allegedly terminated recently hired non-Chinese managers at multiple locations. The EEOC stated that some non-Chinese workers felt forced to resign as a result.