Montrose Safeway location in divestiture plans for Kroger merger

Kroger and Albertsons released their list of hundreds of grocery stores they plan to sell as part of a deal that would see the supermarket giants merge.

The Montrose Safeway is one of those hundreds of stores that would be divested to C&S Wholesale Grocers, if regulators approve the $24.6 billion merger.

There are 579 stores total named in the list. It has been months since Kroger and Albertsons increased the number of stores they said they would sell by 166, in an attempt to appease regulators who looked to block their merger. Kroger has begun to tell workers at the 579 stores that they will become employees of C&S, which owns brands Piggly Wiggly and Grand Union Supermarkets.

The merger was originally announced in 2022, but since then the FTC has sued to block the deal. Several attorneys general, including Colorado AG Phil Weiser also sued to block the merger.

Kroger and Albertsons plan to divest stores in Washington (124), Arizona (101), Colorado (91), California (63), Oregon (62), Illinois (35), Texas (28), Nevada (16), and Alaska (18).

Three Grand Junction Safeway stores and the Delta Safeway are also included in those numbers.

Kroger said in a statement the divestiture would mean the stores listed would not close, when there was some question as to their future if Kroger and Albertsons were to merge with no divestiture plan. As it stands now, if the merger were to be completed, the named stores would change ownership to C&S.

“C&S committed to ensuring zero stores will close as a result of the merger, all frontline associates will remain employed, all existing collective bargaining agreements will continue, and associates will continue to receive industry-leading benefits alongside bargained-for wages,” the statement from Kroger reads. “C&S's strong operational focus coupled with its experienced management team and financial resources will position it to successfully operate divested stores for years to come. Importantly, we are committed to working closely with C&S to ensure a seamless transition of ownership for all divested stores and supporting operational infrastructure.”

Meanwhile, a number of United Food and Commercial Workers unions released a joint statement that they would continue to support the FTC blocking the merger.

“The merger proposal was rejected in January and February by the attorneys general from the states of Colorado and Washington and the Federal Trade Commission. We applaud their actions. They have been in possession of this proposed divestiture list, made public today by the companies, for months and that did not change their opposition to the proposed merger. These legal challenges to the proposed merger are moving forward with hearings beginning at the end of July and scheduled to go through September.”

Not all Montrose employees are part of a union.

List of Colorado stores planned for divestiture:

Safeway — 1301 Main St, Alamosa

Safeway — 7561 W 80th Ave, Arvada

Safeway — 12200 E Mississippi Ave, Aurora

Safeway — 18730 E Hampden Ave, Aurora

Safeway — 1677 S Havana St, Aurora

Safeway — 1200 S Buckley Rd, Aurora

Safeway — 6100 S Gun Club Rd, Aurora

Safeway — 3325 28th St, Boulder

Safeway — 2798 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder

Safeway — 4800 E Baseline Rd, Boulder

Safeway — 1605 Bridge St, Brighton

Safeway — 3602 W 144th Ave, Broomfield

Safeway — 1414 Main St, Canon City

Safeway — 880 S Perry St, Castle Rock

Safeway — 7375 Arapahoe Rd, Centennial

Safeway — 3275 W Colorado Ave, Colorado Springs

Safeway — 2890 N Powers Blvd, Colorado Springs

Safeway — 6520 S Academy Blvd, Colorado Springs

Safeway — 1425 S Murray Blvd, Colorado Springs

Safeway — 1920 S Nevada Ave, Colorado Springs

Safeway — 840 Village Center Dr, Colorado Springs

Safeway — 7055 Austin Bluffs Pkwy, Colorado Springs

Safeway — 2210 Wahsatch, Colorado Springs

Safeway — 5060 N Academy Blvd, Colorado Springs

Safeway — 8750 N Union Blvd, Colorado Springs

Safeway — 4405 Centennial Blvd, Colorado Springs

Safeway — 27152 Main St, Conifer

Safeway — 1580 E Main St, Cortez

Safeway — 1550 Hwy 92, Delta

Safeway — 1653 S Colorado Blvd, Denver

Safeway — 2660 N Federal Blvd, Denver

Safeway — 6440 E Yale Ave, Denver

Safeway — 2150 S Downing St, Denver

Safeway — 560 Corona St, Denver

Safeway — 757 E 20th Ave, Denver

Safeway — 3800 W 44th Ave, Denver

Safeway — 6220 E 14th Ave, Denver

Safeway — 9160 W Colfax Ave, Denver

Safeway — 200 Quebec St Bldg 400, Denver

Safeway — 323 S Broadway, Denver

Safeway — 10300 Federal Blvd, Denver

Safeway — 771 Thornton Pkwy, Denver

Safeway — 500 E 120th Ave, Denver

Albertsons — 311 W College Dr, Durango

Safeway — 220 S Elizabeth St, Elizabeth

Safeway — 201 E Jefferson, Englewood

Safeway — 3333 Arapahoe Rd B, Erie

Safeway — 3851 Hwy 74 S, Evergreen

Safeway — 8134 Colorado Blvd, Firestone

Safeway — 1426 E Harmony Rd, Fort Collins

Safeway — 2160 W Drake Rd Unit 6, Fort Collins

Safeway — 3660 S Mason St, Fort Collins

Safeway — 731 S Lemay Ave, Fort Collins

Safeway — 1300 Dexter St, Fort Lupton

Safeway — 40 County Rd 804, Fraser

Safeway — 1008 N Summit Blvd, Frisco

Safeway — 1701 Jackson St, Golden

Safeway — 2901 F Rd, Grand Junction

Safeway — 681 Horizon Dr, Grand Junction

Safeway — 2512 Broadway, Grand Junction

Safeway — 4548 Centerplace Dr, Greeley

Safeway — 3526 W 10th St, Greeley

Safeway — 112 S Spruce St, Gunnison

Safeway — 9255 S Broadway, Highlands Ranch

Safeway — 2425 Miner St, Idaho Springs

Safeway — 11088 W Jewell, Lakewood

Safeway — 13111 W Alameda Pkwy, Lakewood

Safeway — 12442 W Ken Caryl Ave, Littleton

Safeway — 5025 S Kipling Pkwy, Littleton

Safeway — 8355 N Rampart Range Rd, Littleton

Safeway — 181 W Mineral Ave, Littleton

Safeway — 8434 S Kipling Pkwy, Littleton

Safeway — 9229 E Lincoln Ave, Lone Tree

Safeway — 1050 Ken Pratt Blvd, Longmont

Safeway — 1632 Hover St, Longmont

Safeway — 1601 Coalton Rd, Louisville

Safeway — 910 W Cherry St, Louisville

Safeway — 860 Cleveland Ave, Loveland

Safeway — 1451 W Eisenhower Blvd, Loveland

Safeway — 2321 W Eisenhower Blvd, Loveland

Safeway — 1329 S Townsend Ave, Montrose

Safeway — 624 Hwy 105, Monument

Safeway — 11051 S Parker Rd, Parker

Albertsons — 1601 Hwy 50 W, Pueblo

Safeway — 1231 S Prairie Ave, Pueblo

Safeway — 37500 E US Hwy 40, Steamboat Springs

Safeway — 3840 E 104th Ave, Thornton

Safeway — 2131 N Frontage Rd W, Vail

Safeway — 3900 Wadsworth Blvd, Wheat Ridge

Safeway — 1535 Main St, Windsor

Safeway — 1101 E US Hwy 24, Woodland Park