This California-Based Grocery Chain Is Planning To Close A Dozen Locations

If your go-to grocery store is Safeway, you'll want to make sure that the location closest to you will remain open for business. On September 9, 2025, parent company Albertsons announced that 12 Safeway locations will shutter their doors for good, including ten in Colorado, one in Nebraska, and one in New Mexico. All stores on the list are planned to close on or before this coming November 7.

In a statement, Albertsons explained that the closures are the result of the stores' performance, writing, "after long and careful deliberation, it becomes necessary to make the difficult decision to close certain locations. We are working to place affected associates in nearby stores wherever possible" (via USA Today). Over 600 Safeway employees will be displaced after the closure of the Colorado stores alone. Locations are reportedly closing in multiple Colorado cities (Englewood, Northglenn, Denver, Aurora, Fort Collins, Loveland, La Junta, Lamar, and two in Colorado Springs), as well as in Chadron, Nebraska, and Farmington, New Mexico.

Some would say that performance issues are not the only factor in this decision. The mayor of Lamar, a municipality of Colorado that will soon lose its Safeway, said he was told the closures also result from costs to Albertsons due to recent labor strikes, as well as its catastrophic canceled merger with fellow grocery chain Kroger. Kroger was not the only grocery chain to close locations after its failed merger, and the Pleasanton, California-based Safeway now joins the list of casualties. The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), a union that represented the workers striking against Albertsons, also has much criticism for the closures.

Colorado can't seem to catch a break when it comes to business closures. Noodles & Company, a Colorado-based fast casual chain, is also set to close multiple locations this year. Now, despite reaching a new contract agreement this past July, Safeway workers across the state will be laid off. This all started in June 2025, when Albertsons and Safeway workers and members of the UFCW began authorized strikes across five states, including Colorado and New Mexico. Albertsons and the division UFCW-7 reached an agreement that promised wage increases, improved healthcare, and other benefits for workers in Colorado and Wyoming.

Now, UFCW-7 is speaking out about the surprise Safeway closures. "Albertsons is more interested in lining the pockets of its Wall Street investors as opposed to serving Coloradans," the union said (via CBS). It also pointed out that residents of rural locations losing their Safeways "will now be forced to drive at least 60 miles to reach the nearest full-service grocer."

Additionally, in February 2025, Alberstons combined its Denver, Colorado division and Intermountain division into one body, forming the Mountain West Division. A spokesperson told Supermarket News that the restructuring encompasses these latest Safeway closures. In August, Albertsons also settled a massive lawsuit from Kroger due to the two companies' ill-fated merger, a case that was not without precedent. Grocery chain Haggen once sued Albertsons over a similar failed deal. Fans of Safeway can only hope that no further closures are needed to mitigate these costs to its parent company.