Sonoma County's Largest Indie Grocery Store Is Expanding, Again

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — Oliver's Market, a local favorite, is opening a new store.

The employee-owned grocery chain is opening a location in Farmers Lane Plaza near Montgomery Village in Santa Rosa.

The new Oliver's will move into the building previously occupied by Rite Aid.

The company's existing locations are in Windsor, Cotati, and Santa Rosa, where it operates stores on Stony Point Road and at the Montecito Center.

The new one will be the fifth in just under three decades, cementing its status as Sonoma County's largest locally owned independent grocer.

Oliver's Market first opened in 1988. It was founded by Steven Maass, who is still listed as a director of the company.

He is the namesake of MAASS Corporation SPC, the corporate entity listed with authorities including the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

The company changed its ownership model in 2017, when Maass sold 43 percent of Oliver's Market to employees through an employee stock ownership plan, according to reports.

He transferred additional shares in 2024, making Oliver's entirely employee-owned.

As a Social Purpose Corporation, or SPC, Oliver's can pursue specific social, environmental and public-benefit objectives in addition to generating profits. Unlike a nonprofit, the company can distribute profits to shareholders while allowing directors to consider broader social purposes and public benefits when making decisions.

Too Close?

The fifth store will be within about a 15-minute drive of Oliver's existing Santa Rosa locations.

News of the location prompted questions Tuesday from both employees and shoppers about whether the new store's proximity could siphon customers from existing locations.

The company acquired not only the store lease but the entire shopping plaza, according to reports. If that is the case, the deal may benefit the plaza by bring more business to the site at the edge of the road otherwise occupied by a DMV office, an athletic club, and an assortment of stores and restaurants, as well as a weekly farmers market.

Company executives could not immediately be reached for comment.