El Cerrito Lucky Reverses Policy After Discrimination Complaint

The Lucky supermarket in El Cerrito Plaza has ended its requirement that minors must pay for deli items before receiving them, company officials confirmed Wednesday.

The issue was raised in a by Paula Thompson of Albany, who complained that her 13-year-old daughter, unlike adults, had been told she must pay for a sandwich she ordered from the deli section before she could receive it.

Thompson said the rule represents "age discrimination" and that her daughter was "criminalized based solely on her age."

Thompson formally complained to Lucky, and Lucky wrote back to her in a letter dated July 17 that the store had lifted the rule, which Lucky said had been established in reponse to young people not paying for deli orders.

Alicia Rockwell, spokeswoman for Save Mart Supermarkets, parent company of the Lucky chain, Wednesday confirmed the letter and described the rule as "a store specific solution in addressing theft of deli items."

The letter – from Frank Silva, senior director of operations for Lucky Supermarkets – offered an apology and said the policy was ended.

"We apologize to you and to your daughter for the recent unsettling experience  at our store," Silva said. "Thank you for bringing it to our attention.

"The store practice was instituted in an effort to address a problem with young customers not paying for deli orders. The store was trying to be cautious and find a balance that was nonintrusive by having orders paid for before delivery. We want to assure you that this practice has been stopped."

In response to the Lucky letter and reversal, Thompson told Patch, "I am not happy that the store intentionally broke the law. I feel it was a learning experience. I am satisfied that the discriminatory policy has been stopped."

Silva told Thompson that discrimination was not the store's intent.

"There was no intent to discriminate in any way against your daughter," he wrote, "and again we want to apologize for your experience at our store. Theft is a problem that affects all retailers, and we are committed to minimizing the problem in the least disruptive way to our customers."

Thompson added that has concerns the policy existed after an earlier controversy arose in April last year when an Albany High School senior, Andrew An, successfully challenged a policy at the El Cerrito Plaza Lucky that allowed only three students in the store at a time. The policy, which existed at a number of other Lucky outlets, was subsequently reversed.