Three local Albertson’s stores on the chopping block
I just bypassed an Albertson’s yesterday in favor of the WinCo across the street. Turns out, i’m probably not the only one making that decision. That store – at 1350 N.E. 122nd Ave. (along with a second PDX store at 4140 S.E. 82nd Ave) will be closing by September, according to an announcement Friday. Also closing: a Beaverton store at 1295 N.W. 185th Ave, and two more down in Salem.
(I’d kind of predicted the closure in this earlier post asking where people grocery shopped – Albertson’s never came up, although many other stores did.)
I have to admit that Albertson’s never crossed my radar much – first, I was put off by the annoying Patricia Heaton commercials, then irritated when their uptight corporate parent forbid the sale of an issue of Seventeen magazine ’cause it had (gasp) illustrations of female genitalia in a health article meant to educate girls.
But the job losses – an estimated 700, according to the BizJournal article – sting nonetheless. And since this leaves only eight remaining Albertsons in PDX proper, how much longer can we expect to see the rest stay open?
I live about 6 blocks from an Albertson’s. That’s the only reason I ever go there… convenience and it’s within easy walking distance to pick up the one or two items I might need when I run out. For all of our weekly groceries, we go to Fred Meyer, since they tend to have a bigger selection and significantly better prices.
I’m not sure why fewer in Portland would make it less likely to stay open.
There’s one out in The Dalles that should be closed. It’s right next to a Safeway and Fred Meyer’s, both of which are much nicer and have better food. That store is a total dive.
btw, one in Hazel Dell (north Vancouver) is going to be closed as well.
fewer stores in PDX make it less likely to keep the stores restocked – especially given gas prices, other transportation variables. At what point do you hit the law of diminishing returns and pull out of the market altogether?
I live near the 82nd store that will be closing. This is the second time Albertsons is leaving Eastport Plaza (sometime in the 80’s, Albertsons left their outdated store right on the corner of 82nd and Holgate for a new one on 82nd and Division).
In the late 90’s, the Eastport Plaza mall was demolished and the property was converted to a strip center, and Albertsons built a new store as an anchor. It’s one of the newer Albertsons stores in the area.
Whenever I visited the store (rarely, since Safeway and Fred Meyer have better deals 95% of the time), the place always had a few customers, but was never busy. It was no problem getting a close parking space. Meanwhile, the Wal-Mart next to it is always packed with shoppers, and a car circling the lot looking for the best parking space available isn’t a rare sight. And that was another problem for the Eastport Plaza store: being right next to Wal-Mart. The Wal-Mart may not be a supercenter, but it has a decent grocery section, complete with a refrigerated case.
Like I said earlier, Albertsons didn’t have the best prices. But it’ll still be sad to see them go. If Eastport Plaza can’t attract another supermarket chain, it will leave the Fred Meyer on 82nd and Foster and the Food 4 Less on Powell as the only supermarkets directly in the area. I also liked the Deli’s fried chicken, which imo was better than Safeway’s or Fred Meyer’s. And job losses are never good.
And yes, those Patricia Heaton commercials were annoying. I guess they’re more tolerable than that Carpet Carl guy, though.
Another thing: I wonder how long I’ll be hearing rumors that Albertsons decided to close the store because of that idiot that exchanged gunfire with the police and killed himself at the Army Recruiting Center last month. Ugh.