Safeway’s plan to close 10 Colorado stores sparks concern over access to groceries, job losses

Plans announced earlier this week to close 10 Safeway stores across Colorado in the next two months will impact more than 600 workers and thousands of customers.

The news not only raised concerns about potential job losses, but about reduced access to groceries for low-income residents — the creation of “food deserts” — and the negative impact the closures could have on Front Range neighborhoods and small towns on the Eastern Plains.

That said, some Safeway customers The Post talked to this week acknowledged their neighborhood stores were old and needed work if they were to stay open.

Safeway informed the state in 10 separate letters under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act on Tuesday that it would be letting go of a combined 617 workers as a result of store closures along the Front Range.

“The store is expected to close to the public on Nov. 7, 2025, but associates could continue to work at the store to close operations for a period of time after that date,” wrote Heather Halpape, director of communications for Safeway’s Mountain West Division, in a phrase repeated in all of the letters the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment received.

Halpape also said the company hoped to find employment at other stores for some of the workers being let go.

The cities impacted include Englewood, Northglenn, Denver, Aurora, Fort Collins, Loveland, Colorado Springs, La Junta and Lamar.

The largest layoff, 85 workers, will happen at the store at 1425 S. Murray Blvd. in Colorado Springs, and the smallest one, 50 workers, will occur at the store at 860 Cleveland Ave. in Loveland.

On average, 62 workers are being let go per store.

“This closure affects 53 dedicated associates in Lamar, and while Safeway has plans to place some into positions at other locations, we recognize the deep impact this will have on these employees, their families, and our community as a whole,” wrote Lamar Mayor Kirk Crespin in a Facebook post. Lamar is a small town in southeast Colorado on U.S. 50.

“While this is a significant loss, Lamar is a resilient and strong community. We will continue working closely with our economic development partners to recruit new businesses — especially one that can provide similar goods and services to meet the needs of our residents.”

Even with a Walmart Supercenter only a short drive from the Safeway closing at 906 E. Olive St., and Farmer’s Country Market close by, Lamar is losing a valuable grocery store option.

Michael Hart, city manager for La Junta, also shared a similar sentiment with Lamar’s mayor.

“It is with deep sadness that we acknowledge the news that our Safeway grocery store will be closing its doors permanently,” he said on Tuesday to the community.

“While this closure is difficult, it is not the end of La Junta’s story. Our community is resilient. We are already engaging with regional and national partners to explore new grocery options that will meet the needs of our residents and strengthen our local economy.”

La Junta also has a Walmart Supercenter on U.S. 50.

Crespin said that he was told that the decision to close their Safeway was made because of lower sales, the increase of expenses from the labor strike that happened earlier this year, and the failed Safeway/Albertsons merger with competitor King Soopers and City Market.

UFCW Local 7, which represents workers at eight of the 10 Colorado stores set for closure, said in a statement that they are also working to ensure that workers at all of the affected stores are given as many options as possible to remain employed.

However, the Union anticipates that the closures could result in hundreds of job losses.

“We call on Safeway to rethink this disastrous approach to shrinking its corporate footprint and, instead, invest in Colorado communities with new and improved stores,” said UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova.

Grocery store closures can lead to long-term effects

This isn’t the first time a grocery store closure has prompted concern.

The Montbello community faced a similar situation nearly a decade ago when its only full-size grocery store, also a Safeway, closed its doors, creating a significant gap in food access and turning the neighborhood into a “food desert,” according to Donna Garnett, CEO of the Montbello Organizing Committee.

“Immediately afterward was, ‘what are we going to do? Where are we going to shop?’ Our community was — and is still, a community that is — somewhat isolated,”  she said.

“It was certainly a great concern to folks.”

When asked about the immediate and long-term effects on a community when a big-box grocery store or the only nearby grocery store closes, Garnett said it can have significant impacts.

These include reduced access to food, difficulty obtaining groceries because of limited transportation, job loss and even negative effects on a person’s health, especially when the only remaining options are convenience stores.

“You’re sort of left with purchasing processed foods or not having access to fresh meats and fresh produce. That begins to take a toll on the health and wellness of people,” she said.

On Wednesday afternoon, Safeway customer Mary Jo Bush called the news “a sign of the times” after learning the company plans to shut down stores across the state. Yet Bush said she saw it coming.

“I’m not really surprised, it’s an old store,” she said of the Aurora location at 12200 E. Mississippi Ave., which she said is notoriously “unkept” and “dirty.”

Nearby resident Sebastian Jones said the closure “kind of sucks” as he takes the bus to get groceries for himself and roommates.

Jones said Safeway has a few cheap options, however, he doesn’t expect the closure to significantly affect his daily access to groceries, as there are several alternatives nearby.

Directly across from the Safeway in Aurora is GW Supermarket, and just a six-minute drive down Mississippi Avenue, shoppers can find a King Soopers, Costco and Sprouts Farmers Market.

Near the Denver Safeway at 1653 S. Colorado Blvd., other options include King Soopers, Whole Foods Market, Natural Grocers and Target.

Another shopper, Will, who preferred to only share his first name, said many people will lose their jobs as a result of the closures and called it a “management problem.” He also said that recent price increases have not helped the situation.

In Loveland, customers of the store on North Cleveland Avenue not only worried about the impending impact on them, but on the employees they’ve gotten to know over the years.

“All the cashiers, the managers, everybody in there — they’re wonderful people,” said Tim DiNoia, a longtime customer. “I don’t want them to lose their job, and hopefully they can absorb them into the other stores.”

Garnett said the most impactful outcome of the closure in her neighborhood a decade ago was the community’s unified response to food insecurity. This response led to the creation of the Montbello Sustainable Food Access Coalition, a network of nonprofits and school gardens committed to providing healthy and accessible meals to families in need.

It also led to Montbello’s FreshLo Hub project, a mixed-use development project aimed to bring affordable housing, retail, an arts education center, mental health services and a nonprofit grocery store known as the Montbello FreshLo Fresh Food Market.

The market, located near Peoria Street and East Albrook Drive, is expected to open by mid next year, covering 5,200 square feet of grocery space that will offer grocery staples, fresh produce and made-from-scratch prepared foods.