Colorado Safeway closures spark concern over food deserts, job losses

Plans have been announced earlier this week to close 10 Safeway stores across Colorado in the next two months, affecting more than 600 workers and thousands of customers. The closure raises concerns about job losses, reduced access to groceries for low-income residents, and the creation of “food deserts” in Front Range neighborhoods and small towns on the Eastern Plains. Some Safeway customers acknowledged that their neighborhood stores were old and needed improvements to stay open.

Safeway notified the state in 10 separate letters under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act that a total of 617 workers would be let go due to store closures along the Front Range. The closures are expected to take place by November 7, 2025. Safeway’s director of communications, Heather Halpape, mentioned that the company hoped to find employment at other stores for some of the affected workers.

The impacted cities include Englewood, Northglenn, Denver, Aurora, Fort Collins, Loveland, Colorado Springs, La Junta, and Lamar. The closures will result in layoffs ranging from 50 to 85 workers per store. Lamar Mayor Kirk Crespin expressed deep concern about the impact on the community and pledged to work with economic development partners to recruit new businesses to meet residents’ needs.

The closures are attributed to lower sales, increased expenses from a labor strike, and the failed Safeway/Albertsons merger with King Soopers and City Market. UFCW Local 7, representing workers at eight of the affected stores, is working to provide employment options for the affected workers but anticipates hundreds of job losses.

The closure of grocery stores can have significant impacts on communities, creating food deserts and affecting residents’ access to fresh produce and meats. Safeway customer Mary Jo Bush described the news as “a sign of the times” and mentioned that she was not surprised by the closures, citing the age of the stores. The closure of the Safeway on Mississippi Ave. has raised concerns among residents about access to groceries in the area. While some, like Sebastian Jones, find the closure inconvenient, others, like Will, are more worried about the impact on employees and recent price increases. However, there are several alternative grocery stores nearby, such as GW Supermarket and King Soopers, to help mitigate the effects of the closure.

In response to similar closures in the past, the community came together to address food insecurity by forming the Montbello Sustainable Food Access Coalition. This initiative led to the development of the Montbello FreshLo Fresh Food Market, which is set to open next year and offer affordable groceries to the neighborhood.

The closure of Safeway stores across Colorado is part of a larger trend, but initiatives like the Montbello FreshLo Fresh Food Market show that communities can come together to address food access issues. By building more stores in the future, the goal is to provide affordable and nutritious food to neighborhoods beyond just Montbello.

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Originally Published: September 12, 2025 at 10:56 AM MDT following sentence:

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