Shoppers will see fewer products, but lower prices, when a Lucky Supermarket on MacArthur Boulevard in the Laurel District will convert to a Maxx Value Foods.

A spokeswoman for Save Mart Supermarkets - the parent owner of Lucky - said the new store will carry the same products that Lucky carries, but with a limited number of sizes and brands. Condiments like ketchup and salad dressing, for example, will be limited to two brands, along with the store’s private label. This will lower operational costs for the store and also result in lower prices for consumers. In addition, the parking lot will be repaved and the outdoor lighting will be improved. The new store is expected to open in late February.

“I think we’re going to open a few eyes,” Alicia Rockwell, director of public affairs for Save Mart, said. “People are going to walk in and I think they’re going to be pleasantly surprised.”

Thomas Wong, the executive director of the Laurel District Association, said he was satisfied that the new store will serve the community well, following a presentation made by Save Mart Supermarkets in late January.

He said some residents thought the new store would be a warehouse-type operation, but that’s not the case because the building isn’t big enough.

“It’s going to be a smaller supermarket,” he said. “It’s a test pilot for their future plans of turning other (Lucky stores) into Maxx Values with smaller footprints.”

This is the second such Maxx Value Foods for Save Mart. The first store opened in November 2010 in Modesto with a “limited selection of dry and fresh products and an aggressive pricing structure,” according to a press release.

Save Mart officials say they will strive to offer products that “match the unique ethnic and cultural needs of the community it serves, known as neighborhood marketing.”

Shereda Nosakhare, a policy analyst for Oakland Councilwoman Libby Schaaf, said 341 people responded to a poll about the new store, with many saying they wanted organic products.

In an email, Rockwell said she was certain the new store would have some assortment of organic offerings, most of which are under its own company brand labels.

“After seeing the PowerPoint images, we are excited for the makeover,” Nosakhare said. “And we will definitely hold Save Mart to their word of delivering what they said it will be.”

In the meantime, the shelves at the Lucky Supermarket appear less than fully stocked while the store is revamped. Shopper Sharon Wheat recently complained that she couldn’t find the brand of dog food she was accustomed to.

“They’re scaling down, definitely,” Wheat said. “You can tell. I had to hunt for bread.”

One woman who gave her name as April said she had heard that the store was being closed and was relieved to hear that a new store will replace it.

“As long as it’s not an empty space – too much of Oakland is shut down and not being utilized,” she said.