A white bear in a puffy chef’s hat and apron by the name of Osito Bimbo greeted the first customers to step foot in Orcutt’s newest grocery store the morning of its May 15 grand opening.
Bringing Orcutt its first Grocery Outlet was a venture into uncharted territory for owner and operator Bryan Lutz, even with nearly four decades of grocery retail experience under his belt.
“Lucky, Albertsons, Save Mart were some of the other chains I’ve worked for,” said Lutz, who relocated from Sacramento to Orcutt a few months ago.
“I’ve always been a fan of the Central Coast,” he added while citing past visits to Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara.
But he had never been to Orcutt prior to considering setting up shop in the area.
“I already knew I was going to love [Orcutt]. But when I got down here to look at it, I just really fell in love with it, … when I was deciding on this store,” Lutz told the Sun. “It’s a wonderful community. Everything about this area just checked every box for me.”
Based out of Emeryville, the Grocery Outlet chain primarily operates through a network of independently owned stores across the country, such as Lutz’ new market in Orcutt. The Grocery Outlet in Santa Maria, for example, about 5 miles away from Lutz’s, is under different ownership.
Lutz said he spent about a year training with some of Grocery Outlet’s corporate staffers to learn the ins and outs of running an independent store.
Between now and June 13, visitors of the new Orcutt bargain market can enter a raffle to win $1,000 worth of free groceries. Lutz said he plans to post other promotions and limited time discounts on the Orcutt store’s Facebook page regularly.
In late May, for instance, a video on the page showed an employee in the store’s chicken section peel away a “2.69/lb.” sticker to reveal a “1.99/lb” listing underneath. The video’s caption read: “Don’t chicken out on this deal.”
The first big Grocery Outlet giveaway Lutz facilitated was on May 15, when the market opened its doors to the public at 8 a.m.
The first 100 customers to scurry through and make purchases at the new shop on East Clark Avenue received a gift card, each loaded with a mystery amount—ranging between $5 and $500.
Lutz said he knew the giveaway would be carried out swiftly but was still caught off guard that morning.
“We had 100 [cards], which is normally sufficient. But this community really took to the grand opening,” Lutz said. “Those gift cards went fast. … [There] was an amazing turnout.”
“We let them in at 8 a.m. and I would probably say at about 8:30 a.m., we got through all the gift cards,” he recalled.
Shortly before his store’s ribbon cutting, Lutz announced a special donation he had in mind to commemorate the occasion while benefitting a local cause. That day he donated $1,000 to Supporting Orcutt Academy’s Academic Resources (SOAAR).
“It’s a resource that helps Orcutt Academy with their educational programs that they have going on,” said Lutz, who has two teen daughters back in Sacramento finishing the school year before moving to Orcutt this summer.
“I’m very passionate about education,” Lutz continued. “Sports and education are two spots that hit my heart.”
Lutz said he’s a lifelong baseball fanatic and that he also got into soccer later in life after his daughters started playing. At the May 15 opening, Lutz presented his $1,000 donation in giant check form to SOAAR board president Mark Steller and board member Joe Dana.
“We definitely want to get involved in this community and get involved as much as we can,” Lutz said. “I love getting involved, … whatever I can do to give back is my goal and my family’s goal.”
Highlight
• The Lompoc Unified School District invites its students of all grade levels to take part in the fifth annual Summer Reading Challenge: Book Bingo, between June 6 and Aug. 11. To participate, students can pick up or download a book bingo card with prompts to complete for the chance to receive a prize. For more info, email nelson.katelyn@lusd.org.
Senior Staff Writer Caleb Wiseblood wrote Spotlight this week. Send comments to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 5-15, 2025.