Safeway, a grocery chain owned by Albertsons Companies, sent a letter to San Francisco Mayor London Breed (D) on Tuesday saying it was closing one of its stores due to “ongoing” theft and safety issues. The company reportedly announced its intention to do so.
The letter is san francisco chronicletold Breed that Safeway will close its Webster Street store in the San Francisco suburb of Fillmore on February 7th.
“Unfortunately, the challenges we face are too great to overcome.”
The grocer reportedly kept its stores open for an additional 11 months “to provide a greater transition period for the community.”
The store, which has been open for 40 years, is the latest in a long line of retailers to evacuate the San Francisco area due to rampant theft.
Safeway's letter to Breed cited “ongoing concerns for the safety of our employees and customers, as well as persistent issues regarding theft.”
Last year, the grocer removed its self-checkout kiosks to reduce retail theft.
All employees at the store will be assigned to one of the remaining 15 stores in San Francisco, the company said.
San Francisco police have received numerous incident reports about the store, including complaints of car break-ins, assaults, loitering and illegal dumping, the Chronicle reported.
Safeway said it is “actively working on a transition plan to smoothly and safely close stores while ensuring continued access and traffic flow to nearby stores.”
“As a company with over 255 stores in Northern California, these are difficult decisions and we do not take them lightly.” “We appreciate the time and resources you have invested in finding ways for us to remain open, but unfortunately the challenges we face are too great to overcome. Masu.”
Breed said she was “saddened” by the announcement, but said she was grateful for Safeway's efforts. postpone the deadline In almost a year.
He said the City of San Francisco is “committed to ensuring that our residents and seniors continue to have access to healthy food, banking, and medical needs, and we are working closely with our communities, local businesses, and commercial property owners.” “We intend to attract these important services to our existing storefronts.” vacancy. ”
San Francisco 5th District Supervisor Dean Preston encouraged Breed to acquire the property through Eminent Domain and turn it into affordable housing.
Safeway has reached an agreement to sell the plaza to Align Real Estate, which aims to turn it into a mixed-use residential and retail space.
“It would be cruel to close a grocery store without a replacement,” Preston told the Chronicle.
“I continue to believe that the best path to ensuring a future grocery store and affordable housing on this redevelopment site is for the city to begin land acquisition negotiations,” he said. Ta.
Preston noted that Breed's office has not responded to his request to take control of the property.
Last month, left-leaning Mayor Breed, who has supported the movement to defund the police and supported anti-crime efforts, announced his re-election bid against Democratic challenger Daniel Lurie, an heir to the Levi Strauss estate. I lost to Mr. Lurie's campaign focused on efforts to restore public safety.
Safeway did not respond to a request for comment. fox news digital.
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