Supermarket chain Safeway announced it will close one of its major San Francisco stores in February over concerns that rampant theft and safety threats are putting customers and employees at risk.
The closure, which has been postponed for 11 months, will affect the Safeway store on Webster Street in San Francisco's Fillmore neighborhood, which has been open for the past 40 years.
The company announced that it will permanently close the store on February 7th. According to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Last month, shocking images were released of a California man assaulting a female employee at another Safeway store in San Francisco.
Safeway joins a growing list of major retailers who have closed stores in a city plagued by an alarming decline in quality of life, persistently high costs of living, soaring taxes and an increase in organized retail incidents in recent years. It became. Theft, homelessness, and public drug use.
Adidas, Macy's, Zara, Nordstrom, Old Navy, Sephora, Hollister, Aldo, J.Crew and Whole Foods are among the brand names that have announced store closures or have already reduced their footprint in the city. .
Safeway, a subsidiary of supermarket conglomerate Albertsons, told the Chronicle it is “proud” of its 40-year history of serving the city's Fillmore and Japantown neighborhoods.
The company said it had originally intended to close the store earlier this year, but postponed the move to “provide a greater transition period for the community.”
Safeway said the decision was made “due to continued concerns for the safety of our employees and customers, and persistent problems with theft.”
According to the Chronicle, local residents in the area frequently complain to police about car break-ins, assaults, loitering and illegal dumping.
The company said all of the store's unionized employees will be reassigned to one of the 15 supermarkets it operates in San Francisco.
Safeway told the Chronicle, “We continue to serve San Francisco at our remaining 15 locations and remain committed to ensuring our unionized employees have a safe working environment to perform their jobs.”
Neighboring residents mounted a fierce public campaign to urge the company not to close the store in March as originally planned.
Local leaders warned that Safeway's departure would negatively impact other businesses in the area and leave residents without a grocery store within walking distance.
Safeway told the Chronicle that it is “actively working on a transition plan to close stores smoothly and safely while ensuring continued access and traffic flow to nearby stores.”
“As a company with over 255 stores in Northern California, this is a difficult decision and one we do not take lightly,” the store said in a statement.
“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.”
Outgoing San Francisco Mayor London Breed said he was “saddened” by the announcement and said Safeway “has played a central role in bringing communities together.”
Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie, successor to Levi Strauss, who defeated Breed, has pledged to increase the city's police presence and shut down open-air drug markets. He is scheduled to be sworn in as mayor on January 8th.
The Post reached out to Safeway, Breed and Lurie for comment.
