DENVER — Safeway will shutter 10 stores in Colorado before the end of the year, including four in the Denver metro area, as part of a restructuring that merges its Intermountain and Denver divisions into the newly formed Mountain West Division. The move, which also affects one store each in New Mexico and Nebraska, will result in closures on or before November 7.
The affected Colorado stores include locations in Englewood, Northglenn, Denver, Aurora, Fort Collins, Loveland, Colorado Springs, La Junta, and Lamar. Safeway’s Farmington, N.M., and Chadron, Neb., stores will also close.
In a statement, Safeway said the decision followed a performance evaluation of its store network. “Safeway has proudly served these communities for decades, and the decision to close these stores was not made lightly,” said spokesperson Heather Halpape. “With a focus on growth, these closures will enable us to continue investing in our store network and better align with evolving customer needs. Together, these changes position us to operate in new and innovative ways that foster customer loyalty and drive long-term success.”
Local Impact and Community Reaction
The closures will leave significant gaps in grocery access across several communities. In La Junta and Lamar, where Safeway was the only full-service grocer, residents may now have to drive more than 60 miles to reach another supermarket. Lamar’s mayor noted on Facebook that the decision was tied to lower sales, added costs from a labor strike earlier this year, and the failure of Kroger’s proposed $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons, Safeway’s parent company.
The mayor shared a WARN letter outlining the closures and urged that a new plan be put in place for the vacated Lamar location.
Union Response
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7, which represents thousands of grocery workers in Colorado and Wyoming, condemned the closures. “The Company's decision to close these stores represents new evidence that Albertsons is more interested in lining the pockets of its Wall Street investors as opposed to serving Coloradans,” the union said in a statement.
UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova added, “The stores being closed include stores in rural La Junta and Lamar, Colorado, where Safeway was already the only full-service grocer in town. Consumers in these communities will now be forced to drive at least 60 miles to reach the nearest full-service grocer. At the same time, store closures in Aurora, Englewood and downtown Loveland create a huge impact on less affluent areas where consumers often lack access to reliable transportation.”
The closures are expected to affect hundreds of Safeway employees statewide.
Background
The announcement comes after a months-long labor dispute that saw UFCW workers strike at roughly 50 Colorado stores. A tentative agreement reached in July secured wage increases, seniority-based bonuses, and improved health benefits for union members. The dispute, according to local officials, added financial strain that contributed to Safeway’s decision.
