Clarification: Gelson’s new store at 730 Turquoise St. is in Pacific Beach, not La Jolla, according to San Diego community planning maps.

High-end grocer Gelson’s said Monday that it received approval to get a third defunct Haggen store in San Diego County.

Gelson’s, which is a favorite of celebrities in Los Angeles, will extend its business to San Diego County for the first time with locations in Del Mar, Pacific Beach and, as of a ruling last week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, in Carlsbad.

Overall, the grocer paid $36 million to buy eight stores in Southern California belonging to Haggen, a Bellingham,Wash.-based company that filed for bankruptcy in September, nine months after taking over 146 stores from Albertsons and Safeway.

“We have heard from many North County residents who have sought a Gelson’s store, and we are pleased for the opportunity to serve Carlsbad in the coming months,” Gelson’s CEO Rob McDougall said in a statement. “Our priority is to staff the store with the existing Haggen associates, some of whom have worked at this location for many years.”

New Gelson’s stores Del Mar: 2707 Via De La Valle Pacific Beach: 730 Turquoise St. Carlsbad: 7660 El Camino Real

Its Del Mar store opens Jan. 14, the Carlsbad one on Feb. 11 and Pacific Beach in late March. Existing pharmacies in those stores will stay open during the transition.

McDougall told the Union-Tribune last month it had tried for years to get into San Diego County and expects to succeed by cornering a niche market.

It will re-interview former Haggen employees to see where they could best fit in the stores, he said.

The bankruptcy court has approved most of the sales of the 25 San Diego County Haggen stores, including another cluster last week. Smart & Final bought nine stores, Albertsons got four, Tawa (operator of 99 Ranch Market) got two and Bristol Farms got one.

phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com