Major Grocery Chain Closing Over 110 Stores in Idaho & Washington State

All of us have a favorite grocery store. Maybe you’re someone that picks where you do your shopping based on the store's low prices. Great, one of the cheapest grocery stores in America doesn’t just have 13 locations in Idaho, they’re based here. 

Maybe you do your grocery shopping at Fred Meyer or Walmart because you know you can run other errands for your home at the same time. 

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Or maybe you’re like us. It’s all about location, location, location. While we know shopping at WinCo may be a little cheaper, we used to live across the street from an Albertsons store. Even after moving to a new apartment complex, we still have to drive past that store daily, so we’re loyal to that location and the amazing people who work there. 

If you’re an Albertsons shopper, your favorite store may be closing or getting a new owner in 2024. 

Update on the Kroger and Albertsons Merger

No doubt, the 2022 announcement that Ohio-based Kroger and Idaho-based Albertsons was one of the biggest news stories in our area. The initial announcement suggested that the deal would close in early 2024. We’re entering the third week of January 2024 and we still don’t have a clear picture of when that will happen. Finance Buzz says it will likely close after January 17. Axios suggests that it might be February before the Federal Trade Commission makes the decision to approve the merger. 

The FTC’s biggest concern is that if the merger goes through, the new mega grocery chain will diminish competition in markets like Boise where both Kroger (Fred Meyer’s parent company) and Albertsons have a significant amount of stores and overlap. They’ve said that they’ll sell more 400 stores to another company called C&S Wholesale Grocers to prevent that from happening. 

According to USA Today, both companies are committed to not closing stores or laying off workers but they’re washing their hands of the locations. That means the store that you’ve come to know, will be gone as new leadership takes over. They’ll rebrand and probably adjust the layout of the stores to match the standards of the new ownership. This would be similar to what Albertsons did with the Paul's Market stores on Lake Hazel and in McCall in when they took over in 2016.

C&S operates stores at Grand Union, Southern Family Markets, Piggly Wiggly, Nell’s and Olean Wholesale Grocery. They already have a warehouse located in the Pacific Northwest. They opened the facility in Troutdale, Oregon in 2020. The city is about 20 miles from Portland. 

How Many Stores Will Be Affected?

Idaho will lose 13 Albertsons stores. Oregon will lose 49 Albertsons and Kroger stores. It’s unclear exactly how many stores in Utah will rebrand, as they’re listed as “12 Albertsons Cos. stores" on the same line as Montana and Wyoming. 

Washington will be the hardest hit. USA Today reveals they’ll lose 104 Albertsons and Kroger stores. They’re not happy about that. There are many outlets reporting that the state’s attorney general plans to sue in order to block the $24.6-billion merger.