"I must say, [their breads] are as good as mine," said the 75-year-old grandmother. "Or sometimes mine are as good as theirs."

The news that the store, at 111 E. El Camino Real, will close its doors on Feb. 24 came as a shock to Manzo, who said she loves the fresh produce, warm bakery and the wide, clean isles of the store.

Jennifer Brace, a spokesman for Raley's—Nob Hill's parent company—said the store is closing because of a number of hardships, including increasing rent prices and lack of remodeling opportunities.

"We've done all we can to make the store a success, and we've decided to close it and focus on the success of our other Nob Hill locations," Brace said.

But the continued success of the chain may come as little consolation to residents who have shopped at Nob Hill throughout its almost 24 years in Sunnyvale.

Jeanne Emmett, administrator of the Life's Garden retirement community, said her residents often shopped at Nob Hill because they only have to cross Cezanne Drive to get to the store.

For retired residents carrying groceries home in a shopping cart, the two-lane traffic on Cezanne is easier to manage than the traffic on a major street like El Camino Real, which residents would have to cross to get to the nearest Albertsons.

The bakery workers—who provided countless sheet cakes for birthday parties and other events—and the checkout staff became friends to the residents of Life's Garden, who Emmett says were a constant presence in the store.

Another frequent shopper, 40-year Sunnyvale resident Jack Shattuck said he always ran into Life's Garden residents while shopping there and would talk with them and the baggers who helped him with his groceries, exchanging World War II trivia and Mexican food recipes.

After shopping at the store for 10 years, he knew that he would get the right kind of cigarettes when he asked for "smokes," and his groceries would always be placed in plastic bags, which he prefers over paper.

"These are all just minor things, but everything else around here is so impersonal," Shattuck said. "It's nice to deal with clerks who know what your name is and what you like."

But Nob Hill was even more than just a friendly, convenient grocer. For many, including Manzo and Lakewood Village resident Phyllis Fowler, Nob Hill was an alternative to other chain stores in the area that offer special deals for card-carrying members.

"If I go to Safeway, I've got to swipe a card. If I go to Albertsons, I've got to swipe a card. If I go to Costco, I've got to swipe a card and stand in that line," Fowler said. "It's not convenient, and I don't particularly like someone watching my shopping habits."

Fowler, a board member of the Sunnyvale School District, said the money saved by special cards doesn't outweigh the benefits of having quality products like Nob Hill's.

"When it comes to my meats and my produce, I don't mind paying a few cents more each time for quality," she said.

In addition to losing the quality products Nob Hill offered, Fowler is worried that losing the store will also lessen the competition between grocery stores in the area.

But the advantage some saw in Nob Hill did not stop with shopping freedom.

"It's one of the only places you can shop around here without crossing a Southern California picket line," said Councilwoman Melinda Hamilton, referring to continued labor disputes between Safeway—the company that owns Safeway, Albertsons and Vons—and more than 70,000 union workers.

But with the loss of the store, Sunnyvale residents will have to head for other grocery stores.

While Manzo said that she intends to shop at the Nob Hill in Mountain View because she frequently travels in that direction, some, like Shattuck and the residents of Life's Garden, are still unsure where they will go for their groceries.

"I don't like Safeway, and I don't care for Albertsons," Shattuck said. "Nob Hill is my store."