If you’ve walked into your local Safeway lately and noticed those giant, yellow "Everything Must Go" signs, you’re not alone. It’s a gut-punch for a lot of neighborhoods. One day you’re grabbing milk on the way home, and the next, there’s a padlock on the door and a community left wondering where to go for prescriptions.
Honestly, the situation with Safeway stores closing in Colorado is a tangled mess of corporate restructuring, a failed mega-merger, and a brutal retail environment. It isn't just one thing. It's everything at once.
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The 2025 Wave: Which Stores Actually Shut Down?
By November 2025, the dust mostly settled on a specific round of ten closures that hit Colorado hard. This wasn't just a random decision. It was part of a major internal shift where Safeway (owned by Albertsons) merged its Denver and Intermountain divisions into something called the "Mountain West Division."
The logic? Efficiency. The reality? Empty storefronts in places like Englewood and Northglenn.
Here is the breakdown of the locations that were axed in late 2025:
- Denver Metro: 1653 S. Colorado Blvd. (Denver), 12200 E. Mississippi Ave. (Aurora), 201 E. Jefferson Ave. (Englewood), and 500 E. 120th Ave. (Northglenn).
- Northern Colorado: 3657 S. College Ave. (Fort Collins) and 860 Cleveland Ave. (Loveland).
- Colorado Springs: 5060 North Academy Blvd. and 1425 S. Murray Blvd.
- Rural Impact: 315 West 2nd St. (La Junta) and 906 E. Olive St. (Lamar).
The rural closures hurt the most. In La Junta and Lamar, Safeway wasn't just a store; it was the only full-service grocer for miles. Sure, there’s a Walmart, but losing the Safeway pharmacy and the specific items they carried has forced some folks to drive 60 miles just to get what they need.
Why is Safeway Stores Closing in Colorado Such a Big Deal?
It’s about the "food desert" problem. Kim Cordova, the president of UFCW Local 7, has been pretty vocal about this. She basically argues that these companies are putting Wall Street profits over people's dinner tables. When a store closes in a less affluent area—like the Englewood or Aurora spots—it hits people who don't have cars.
If you have to take two buses just to get fresh produce, you're probably just not going to get fresh produce.
The Kroger-Albertsons Merger Drama
You can't talk about Safeway stores closing in Colorado without mentioning the $24.6 billion merger that almost happened. Kroger (which owns King Soopers) wanted to buy Albertsons. To keep the government from crying "monopoly," they planned to sell off 91 Colorado stores to a third party called C&S Wholesale Grocers.
Then, the courts stepped in.
In late 2024, judges in Oregon and Washington—and eventually the push from Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser—effectively blocked the deal. They said it would kill competition and hike prices.
Wait. If the merger was blocked, why are stores still closing?
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It’s a bit of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario. Lamar’s mayor, Kirk Crespin, mentioned that the Safeway parent company cited lower sales and the failure of that merger as reasons for the 2025 shutdowns. Basically, the company was counting on that deal to offload underperforming stores. When the deal died, they just decided to close them anyway.
Labor Costs and Shifting Habits
There was also a strike. In mid-2024, union workers at about 50 Colorado stores reached a deal after a lot of tension. Better wages, better benefits. That’s great for workers, but from a corporate ledger perspective, it increased the "cost of doing business."
Add to that the fact that Aldi is finally moving into Denver with plans for 50 stores.
Competition is getting weird. It’s no longer just Safeway vs. King Soopers. It’s Safeway vs. Amazon, vs. Walmart, vs. the local Natural Grocers. If a store isn't hitting its numbers, the corporate office in Boise isn't going to keep it open out of the goodness of their hearts.
What should you do if your store closed?
- Check Your Prescriptions: This is the big one. Most Safeway pharmacies transferred their records to a nearby Walgreens or another Safeway. Don't wait until you're out of meds to find out where yours went.
- Points and Rewards: Your Safeway for U points usually work at any Albertsons-owned store. If there isn't another Safeway nearby, check for an Albertsons or Vons if you're traveling, though in Colorado, you're mostly looking for another Safeway.
- Job Opportunities: If you were an employee, the union and the company have been working on transfers. Many workers from the closed Denver-area stores were moved to higher-traffic locations.
The landscape of Colorado grocery shopping is changing. It's less about the neighborhood "corner store" and more about massive hubs and delivery. It sucks for the community feel, but that's the current business reality.
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Next Steps:
If you're worried about food access in your area, you can look up the "Colorado Food Access Strategy" through the state government website to see if there are local grants or mobile markets being set up to fill the gaps left by these closures. You can also monitor the UFCW Local 7 website for updates on any further potential store liquidations or labor actions that might affect your shopping routine.