The city of Sacramento on Tuesday jumped in to help find a possible new site for the iconic Corti Brothers store, but its ultimate fate could boil down to rent costs.

Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo said she had talked with Darrell Corti, the president of the longtime Sacramento grocery company, on Tuesday about the possibility of preserving his upscale specialty food market, which has lost its lease at 5810 Folsom Blvd. and is scheduled to close Sept. 30.

"I encouraged him to stay in business, because they're such an institution," Fargo said.

Fargo said Corti told her that he was hopeful he could relocate to a similar-size site and that he would welcome the city's help. She said she then met with City Manager Ray Kerridge to have the city's Economic Development Department work with Corti "to hopefully find another location."

Corti, 66, said Monday that he learned he would be forced out of the store's Folsom Boulevard location during the first week of July. He said the store's landlord informed him his monthly lease would not be renewed.

The new tenant at the Folsom Boulevard site will be Good Eats, a gourmet bistro-market planned by a partnership that includes Michael Teel, former chief executive of West Sacramento-based Raley's Stores. Corti said the new tenant will pay twice Corti Brothers' $12,000 monthly rent.

Corti Brothers has occupied the 20,000-square-foot building since 1970, 23 years after the company was founded by Darrell Corti's father and uncle.

The market features a wide array of meat and delicatessen offerings not often found in other supermarkets. Over the years, the store has become known for the wine selection that Darrell Corti, a wine expert known around the world, has assembled.

"I would like to stay in this neighborhood," he said, adding that something has to happen quickly.

"It's a question of seeing what we can do in the shortest possible time. Obviously, we'd like to pay as little rent as possible. If the rent becomes problematic, then there will be no alternative but to close Corti Brothers."

Besides the city, others apparently are interested in keeping the market in the area.

"Today, there's been a barrage of people – real estate people – with suggestions," Corti said Tuesday afternoon. "I just hung up with someone who wanted us to come to Davis."

Corti said Sacramento mayoral candidate Kevin Johnson also left a message for him.

Fargo speculated that even if Corti Brothers moves to another site, its loyal customers will continue to show up. George Whalin, who grew up in Sacramento and now heads Retail Management Consultants in San Marcos, agreed.

"I would think they would have no problem finding someplace else," Whalin said. "And I'm sure their customers will go where they are. … They're a great retailer. Those kinds of stores – these one-of-a-kind, upscale and really well- defined food stores – have done an incredible job of building a relationship with their customers."

Whalin said that Corti Brothers losing its lease might actually be "an opportunity, not a setback.

"What you want to do is find a location that has compatible-type businesses around you," he said. "That's one of the best things about having a well-honed reputation like Corti Brothers has."

Don Howson, first vice president with CB Richard Ellis in Sacramento, said the slow market for retail space might work in Corti Brothers' favor.

"I think they would be able to secure space. There's ample space in this market, but I don't think it will be easy to achieve the rent (of about $12,000 a month), Howson said.

"Perhaps they could secure a long-term deal with someone who's willing to recognize the high-quality nature and their historical value and allow them a better-than-market deal. … I would think that most landlords would be favorably disposed to lease to Corti given their reputation and longevity in the marketplace."

Howson said the current, typical rent rate for a grocer/ retailer in an older building is $1 per square foot monthly. Corti has been paying about 60 cents a square foot.

Call The Bee's Mark Glover, (916) 321-1184. The Bee's Jim Downing contributed to this report.