Safeway closing store at Grant & Craycroft

Posted May 4, 2016

Dylan Smith
TucsonSentinel.com

A grocery store at the intersection of Grant and Craycroft roads will be closed by mid-June, Safeway representatives said. About 80 employees will have the opportunity to transfer to other stores. The company merged with Albertsons last year in a $9.2 billion deal.

The employees at the store, 5548 E. Grant Rd., were told of the closure about two weeks ago, union members said.

A company spokeswoman wouldn't detail if employees were informed of the closure under the federal WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act, which requires 60 days of advance notice or continuing pay for workers affected by mass layoffs.

"After much discussion and careful consideration it was decided to close the store to strengthen operational efficiencies," Safeway's Nancy Keane said in an email. "We are working to place employees at other Tucson-area stores."

"The property will be marketed for another tenant," Keane said.

Two Tucson Safeways and one Albertsons store were sold last year to the Pacific Northwest grocery chain Haggen. That company picked up 146 stores in five states; prior the the purchase, the chain had only 18 stores in Oregon and Washington. Haggen quickly ran out of steam and withdrew from many of the markets they entered, including Tucson. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in September.

Other than the store slated for closure, Safeway has 18 stores in the Tucson area, with Albertsons running seven stores here.