Clark's Nutrition Store to Sell Alcoholic Beverages

Although Loma Linda is famously known as a “dry” city, Clark's Nutrition and Natural Foods Market will soon offer alcoholic beverages in its Loma Linda store.

And after receiving the blessing of the Loma Linda City Council and a license to sell beer and wine, the owners of Clark's hope the community takes the change in the “spirit” in which it was intended. 

As is the norm for the popular store, it will serve a niche market by featuring organic wines and gluten-free beers with an eye toward local wineries and breweries. The sale of hard liquor is prohibited within the city limits, and that includes the Stater Bros. supermarket on Barton Road in Loma Linda.

“Beer and wine in the health food industry became a niche within a niche with all the health issues,” Clark's co-owner Robert Clark said. “The bottom line is we felt that it was not just to sell beer and wine, but wines that are very low in sulfites and, of course, organic grapes for wines.

“I know it’s an eyebrow raiser big-time, but we’re not promoting alcoholism. We’re promoting healthy consumption.”

The city has deep roots within the Seventh-day Adventist community and many of the residents practice a vegetarian lifestyle and do not typically drink alcoholic beverages, said Loma Linda Mayor Rhodes Rigsby. But he also pointed to the health benefits of alcoholic beverages, including red wine, which is the subject of an ongoing study at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

The Loma Linda store is expected to unveil its selection of beers and wines next week, said Clark's Marketing Coordinator Adam Espinosa. Selections will include gluten-free offerings from Red Ridge and local brewery Hangar 24 out of Redlands. The wine selection will include a mix from Cream Lake wineries and local winery, Gallieano Winery in Rancho Cucamonga.

“We want to be able to be your one-stop shop for anything healthy or organic,” Espinosa said.

Clark's store in Rancho Mirage already sells beer and wine and because of its success in the desert, Espinosa said, they will now sell alcoholic beverages in both the Loma Linda and Riverside stores.

“Clark's is an excellent source for natural and organic products,” Rigsby said. “We do have exceptions for restaurants that do not meet the size requirement to sell beer and wine, but we are also sensitive to the history of Loma Linda and its reputation for healthy living.” 

But selling beer and wine can be a boon for retailers. Rigsby said the still unopened Fresh & Easy market on Mountain View Avenue and Redlands Boulevard actually enlarged its footprint from 11,000 to 15,000 square feet in order to sell beer and wine.