In an unprecedented event on Tuesday afternoon, the well-known and much-loved grocery store on Ocean Park Blvd, Bob’s Market, closed at noon, but there was a very good reason. Employees, members of the surrounding community and relatives gathered at Hillside Memorial Park in the afternoon to celebrate the life of local legend Bob Rosenbloom, the founder of Bob’s Market.
According to Sue Moss, Rosenbloom’s niece and manager of the store, he had been ill for some time. He caught Covid during the pandemic and successfully beat that, but some after, he had a bad fall and he developed shingles. Tragically, his health never fully recovered. "It’s a great run for someone in their 90s," Moss said. Rosenbloom was 91.
The service planned for Tuesday afternoon is set to be a celebration of Rosenbloom’s life and his relentless commitment to the community. The store has been a fixture at the southwest corner of Ocean Park Boulevard and 17th Street since 1979. Bob’s Market, offers meats, produce and a curated wine selection as well as a full-service deli and home delivery and it has attempted to maintain its yesteryear sensibilities while competing against large chains, which is very much a part of its unique charm.
A message from Bob’s market on social media said, "We celebrate the life of our favorite neighbor and promise to continue his legacy. Bob Rosenbloom passed peacefully on Friday morning, April 5. In 45 years, Bob’s never closed once. While our family knows his wish would be to keep the store open all day, we want to honor him by closing at 12noon, Tuesday April 9, to celebrate his life. We will reopen on Wednesday April 10 at 7am and keep it going because ‘friendly service is a way of life.’"
It’s a ride that began at a young age for Rosenbloom, who helped out in the grocery stores his father owned: Ritz Market in Venice in the early 1940s, another location in Crenshaw after that and Food Palace near the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Bundy Drive starting in 1949.
"He believed in the community," Moss said, adding, "We're here for the customers, we're here for the surrounding neighborhood, we're here for that. The customer always comes first. Never closed one day at all."
Moss explains that even during the pandemic, every conceivable action was taken to prevent the store from closing down, even while Rosenbloom was recovering from Covid. "I called him and said that we’re short staffed, people are sick, I’m going to close the store. But he wouldn’t have it. He told me that people can wait in line, people still need things and that’s why we’re here. So, we’re not closing," said Moss.
"So, today, we’re closing at noon and I told my cousin he’s going to sit up in his casket and say, ‘What do you think you’re doing?!’" Moss laughed. She also says that during the riots of 2020 when the whole city was under curfew, they had to find particularly creative ways to get people the supplies they needed. Even then, the store remained open.
The early experiences of working in the grocery retail industry gave Rosenbloom the confidence to launch his own markets on the Westside, opening near the intersection of National and Exposition boulevards. He later expanded with three other stores, including one at Palms and Sepulveda boulevards and another near Pico and Barrington Avenue. However, the Santa Monica location is the only one that remains.
Courtesy Photos
Moss also says that the extremely popular barbecue is returning. "We haven’t done it since the pandemic, but we’re going to be outside on Saturday and Sundays, we take two parking spots and put a grill back out there," she says, adding that she very much hopes for everything to be ready for Cinco de Mayo on May 5.
Rosenbloom has five children, three step children and 10 grandchildren, all spread out across the country, but Moss says every single one is here for the service today.
