Silicon Valley low-cost grocer for military families stays open

Santa Clara County’s low-cost grocer for military families was at risk of closing, but will live on for at least another two years.

Congressman Sam Liccardo on Wednesday announced the Defense Commissary Agency — a U.S. Department of Defense agency — reached an agreement to continue the Moffett Federal Airfield Commissary’s operations through 2028. The federal agency and NASA Ames, which owns the property, agreed on a new lease agreement to operate for the additional two years with the option for an extension through 2029.

It comes after Liccardo wrote a letter in October to Defense Commissary Agency Director John Hall urging against the imminent closure of the affordable marketplace for service members, veterans and their families. The decision was apparently hinted at by the Department of Defense, which moved to privatize commissaries by studying ways to outsource the military grocery stores to for-profit grocers and investment firms.

Liccardo said he met with Hall on Feb. 2 to press for the extension of the commissary lease. It’s the only facility of its kind in the Bay Area, with the nearest alternative 75 miles away.

“The Moffett Field Commissary amounts to much more than a grocery store — it offers a lifeline for our military families and veterans, and a cornerstone institution for our community,” Liccardo said in a statement. “Our residents led this fight — reaching out to our office and demanding action. We listened, leaned in and are grateful we could get this deal done with (the Defense Commissary Agency). I’ll continue working closely with (the agency) so our military families have uninterrupted access to affordable necessities.”

Liccardo said he’s exploring federal funding options for the construction of a new commissary in the upcoming 2027 fiscal year appropriations cycle.

Otto Lee, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and a U.S. Navy veteran, has been a patron of the airfield commissary. He similarly spoke out against the potential closure of the market last year.

“This is great news for a short-term extension, but we do need to find a new space for longer term relocation,” he told San José Spotlight.

Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.