Former mayor Jack Snyder and developer Mike Atherton had a simple idea for the open farmland south of the 120 Bypass. They wanted a new arterial road between the freeway interchanges at Main Street and Airport Way, lined with commercial space, ready for the tract-home neighborhoods they expected to follow. City staff mostly pushed back. The general plan already named Woodward Avenue as the future major arterial, and staff saw little sense in building a second four-lane road through fields half a mile from the bypass. The Manteca Bulletin retold that history in April under the headline "Atherton Drive emerging as South County's Main Street."
The road was built, and so were the neighborhoods. What took longer was groceries. On September 2, 2026, a Food 4 Less opened at the Airport Way end of Atherton Drive. A Save Mart at the Main Street end is targeted for December. By the holidays, a household south of the bypass should be able to do its whole weekly shop without crossing the freeway.
Where the Carts Went Before September
Manteca's full-size supermarkets have long sat north of the bypass. The city's two existing Save Marts are at 1431 W. Yosemite Avenue and 1172 N. Main Street. The first Food 4 Less opened on Spreckels Avenue in 2001. Costco on Daniels Street arrived in 2008.
Because so few new markets opened over those years, the two Atherton stores broke ground within weeks of each other in summer 2025. In July of that year, the Bulletin called it a first in the city's 107-year history.
The Airport Way End Opened First
The new Food 4 Less is at 2301 W. Atherton Drive, in the Manteca Crossing center on the northwest corner of Atherton and Airport Way. It is the 18th Food 4 Less run by PAQ Inc., and it isn't a copy of the Spreckels Avenue store. According to Manteca Crossing's directory and the Bulletin's opening-day report, the Atherton store adds:
- A juice, smoothie and coffee bar making drinks to order
- Sushi made fresh daily
- Bulk foods sold by the pound
- A full-service meat and seafood counter
- International foods, plus organic and natural products
- Grab-and-go meals
PAQ's leadership clearly sees this store as a break from the chain's usual format. Speaking to the Manteca Bulletin, PAQ President and CEO Mike Molinar said:
"This store is unlike any Food 4 Less we have ever built and will be unlike any Food 4 Less ever seen."
The Spreckels Avenue store wasn't left behind. The Bulletin reported that it was recently refreshed and added new offerings of its own.
The center around the new grocer was already busy before it opened. In January, the Bulletin listed Chick-fil-A, Dutch Bros, Crumbl Cookies, 88 BaoBao Handmade Dumplings, Mt. Mike's Pizza, Pokemoto Hawaiian Poke, Menchie's Frozen Yogurt and a Maverik as open at Manteca Crossing. Paris Baguette, Jersey Mike's Subs and Nation's Giant Hamburgers were announced as coming. Now that there's a grocery anchor, one stop at Airport Way can cover dinner, dessert and the week's produce.
The Main Street End Is Due Before Christmas
The other end of Atherton is about to get Manteca's third Save Mart, called Store #11 internally. It anchors Marketplace@Main on the southwest corner of Main Street and Atherton Drive. When the company broke ground in July 2025, it aimed for late summer 2026. A Save Mart careers page posted October 1, 2026 now gives a December 2026 target and calls the store "the newest and largest Save Mart format." The company is building a pool of applicants for management, department lead, cashier and night-crew jobs, to be matched with openings once they go live. No exact opening day has been announced.
Save Mart's groundbreaking announcement describes a 52,000-square-foot store. Plans call for full-service floral, produce, meat, deli and bakery departments, an eatery with an outdoor patio, pickup and delivery, and Amazon return kiosks. The store is designed to run all-electric with a natural CO2 refrigeration system. At the groundbreaking, company president Jim Perkins spoke about bringing "even more convenience to our friends and neighbors in South Manteca."
Part of Marketplace@Main is already open. Starbucks and a Chipotle Kitchen are serving customers. As of the Bulletin's September 2 report, Manteca's sixth McDonald's and its third Quick Quack Car Wash were under construction on the site.
Two New Formats Give the South Side a Choice
When both stores are open, Atherton Drive will offer two different kinds of trips. The Food 4 Less leans toward made-to-order food, bulk bins and a full-service seafood counter. The Save Mart is planned around specialty departments, a sit-down eatery and pickup or delivery. Both chains described their Atherton stores as new concepts, not repeats of their existing Manteca stores, before construction even started.
That's roughly what Snyder and Atherton planned. Their goal for the road included stopping what the Bulletin called a "retail bleed," where Manteca residents spent much of their paychecks on taxable goods in other cities. A weekly grocery trip that stays on Atherton Drive is a small, regular piece of that goal.
The Grocer People Ask About Already Has Space on a Site Plan
Two new supermarkets haven't ended the requests. In July 2025, the Bulletin reported that calls for a WinCo or a Trader Joe's were common on social media and with individual council members. In April 2026, the Bulletin reported that city officials and commercial property owners confirmed both chains had made inquiries. It also said WinCo's main hurdle is finding land it can buy at an acceptable price, since the chain prefers to own its stores instead of leasing.
The next likely grocery site is off Atherton, at the Village at Villa Ticino, 995 N. Airport Way, on the southwest corner of Airport Way and Louise Avenue. The approval came with an unusual feature. The grocery anchor targets 40,000 square feet but can shrink to 20,000 or grow to 80,000. According to the Bulletin, those three sizes match three kinds of tenant:
- 20,000 square feet for a specialty grocer such as Trader Joe's
- 40,000 square feet for a traditional grocer such as Save Mart
- 80,000 square feet for a discount grocer such as WinCo
Put simply, the approved plan leaves room for whichever grocer signs, specialty, traditional or discount. On October 9, the Bulletin reported that the developer is talking with a grocer that may be interested in anchoring the project. The grocer wasn't named. The grocery store is part of phase two, after a phase-one convenience store, gas station and car wash.
For this holiday season, Atherton Drive is where the change happens. The Food 4 Less at Airport Way is open now. The Save Mart at Main Street is aiming for December. Starbucks and Chipotle are already open beside it while the McDonald's and Quick Quack are finished.
If the new Atherton Drive stores have you thinking about which part of Manteca fits your daily routine, the team at Just 1 Real Estate keeps up with what's opening, block by block, and is happy to talk it through. Schedule a free consultation and bring your questions about south Manteca.
