The Whole Foods Move That Reset the Blossom Hill Corner

In about a year, the intersection of Los Gatos Boulevard and Blossom Hill Road changes almost every big tenant it has. Whole Foods has moved into a larger new building. Its old space at Cornerstone of Los Gatos is being refit for a San Francisco grocer that has never operated outside that city. A gym now fills the old Rite Aid. Across the road, Nob Hill Foods plans to leave after nearly 56 years.

Most of these changes trace back to one move of about a block, and the dates show which change set off the next.

A Block North, and More Than Twice the Size

The new Whole Foods Market opened on April 15, 2026, at 15650 Los Gatos Blvd., according to the company's announcement. The store is 43,130 square feet. Its previous space at Cornerstone was 18,000 square feet, so the new store is more than twice as large.

The building sits on the former Chevrolet dealership property. San José Spotlight reported in December 2024 that Sand Hill Property Company planned to redevelop the vacant corner for Tesla and Whole Foods. In the 15 months between that report and the opening announcement, the corner went from a vacant former dealership to the biggest grocery footprint on this part of the boulevard.

The extra space shows up in what the store offers. Whole Foods lists a coffee-and-juice bar, more seating, prepared foods, cheese, seafood and meat counters, and an expanded beverage section. The store also has a larger parking lot reserved for its customers, which matters on a stretch of Los Gatos Boulevard where shared shopping-center lots are the norm.

The Empty Box at Cornerstone

When Whole Foods moved up the street, Cornerstone of Los Gatos lost its grocery anchor. That came on top of an earlier loss. Rite Aid had run a store in the center until the chain went through bankruptcy and closed all its physical locations, as the Mercury News reported. So the center had two large empty spaces next to each other.

Cilker manages the center. The company is based in Los Gatos and started in 1945 as a family agricultural and real estate business. In August 2026, it announced leases for both spaces. Cilker Vice President Mary Egan told the Los Gatan the deals represent "a strategic repositioning of the property."

Here is how the center lines up now:

The sizes show how the center is changing. Club Studio's space is about 1,000 square feet larger than the store that used to anchor Cornerstone's grocery trade. The center is shifting from a pharmacy and a mid-size grocery toward fitness on one side and specialty food on the other.

Club Studio, already open

Club Studio's October release says the gym opened in early September 2026. The release also announces an official grand opening celebration on Saturday, November 14. The club combines boutique studio classes with wellness services in one gym, the Mercury News reported.

Gus's Community Market, next spring

Gus's is the less familiar name in the South Bay. The family-owned grocer started in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury in 1981. It now runs five stores in the city: on Noriega Street, Haight Street, Harrison Street and Channel Street, plus Canyon Market. The Los Gatos store will be its first outside San Francisco. Cilker's announcement says the store will open in spring 2027 with Gus's in-house café partner.

Co-owner Dimitri Vardakastanis explained the choice of location to the Mercury News:

"Los Gatos is a special community with a strong appreciation for quality food, local businesses, and personal service. We are excited about becoming a part of the neighborhood."

So an 18,000-square-foot space that was a chain grocer through early 2026 is set to reopen as a family-run, neighborhood-scale market.

Across Los Gatos Almaden Road

The new Whole Foods opened directly across Los Gatos Almaden Road from Nob Hill Foods. About four months later, Nob Hill confirmed it would leave. The Los Gatan called it the "Battle of Blossom Hill grocers" and wrote that it "ended before it had much of a chance to heat up."

Nob Hill has been at Los Gatos Boulevard and Blossom Hill Road for nearly 56 years. Its parent company, Raley's, chose not to renew a lease that expires in 2027. A Raley's spokesperson told the Los Gatan the decision followed a review of the store's performance and current economic conditions. The store is part of El Gato Village at 15710 Los Gatos Blvd. The Mercury News also reported that the closure will come during 2027.

Los Gatos isn't the only place Raley's is closing stores. The Los Gatan reported that the company had closed its Mountain View store in May and its Roseville store in January. Even so, the order of events on this corner is clear. The bigger Whole Foods opened, and within a few months the store across the road announced it would close.

The Corner's Calendar, Start to Finish

Put the dates in order and the whole change spans about two and a half years, with most of it packed into 2026 and 2027:

1. December 2024: San José Spotlight reports that the vacant former Chevrolet dealership corner will become a Tesla and Whole Foods site.
2. April 15, 2026: Whole Foods opens at 15650 Los Gatos Blvd.
3. August 2026: Nob Hill confirms it will leave when its lease expires in 2027, and Cilker announces leases with Gus's and Club Studio.
4. Early September 2026: Club Studio opens in the former Rite Aid at 15920 Los Gatos Blvd.
5. November 14, 2026: Club Studio holds its grand opening celebration.
6. Spring 2027: Gus's Community Market's target opening at 15980 Los Gatos Blvd.
7. 2027: Nob Hill's lease expires and the store leaves El Gato Village.

Until spring 2027, the corner runs on two grocers, the new Whole Foods and Nob Hill, while the old Whole Foods space at Cornerstone is refit for Gus's. For households that split their shopping between stores, the grocery mix here won't settle until 2027.

The Stores That Stay Put

The rest of the town's grocery options are not changing. A large Safeway sits on the east side of Highway 17 near downtown. Lunardi's, the specialty grocer, is about five blocks north of the new Whole Foods. Once the moves are finished, the boulevard between Lunardi's and Cornerstone will have three different grocers within a short drive of one another: Lunardi's, Whole Foods at its new address, and Gus's in the space Whole Foods left.

Cilker CEO Keyston Smith described the area around Cornerstone as the "Uptown Los Gatos community," according to the Mercury News. Of the four large spaces at the corner at the start of 2026, the old Whole Foods, the old Rite Aid, the Nob Hill store and the former dealership lot, every one has a different tenant or a different future by the end of 2027.

Changes like these affect daily life on the streets around Blossom Hill Road, from where people shop to how busy the corner gets. If you're thinking about what this means for your own home nearby, Diane Bucher Real Estate Group is here to talk it through with the same local knowledge we bring to every conversation in Los Gatos. Request your personalized home valuation whenever you're ready.