Safeway announces decision to close San Francisco store location amid theft and safety concerns: report

Safeway announced on Tuesday in a letter to San Francisco Mayor London Breed that it would close a location in the city after suffering from theft. 

The letter explained that Safeway decided to shutter its location in Fillmore, a neighborhood in San Francisco, “due to ongoing concerns about associate and customer safety, as well as persistent issues with theft,” with current employees to be assigned to other store locations, per the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Safeway is one of multiple companies, including Walgreens, that has been negatively affected by shoplifting and other crimes in the area. The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) recently announced that authorities have arrested eight juvenile retail suspects who they believe are responsible for 23 incidents at various Walgreens stores across the Bay Area. 

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“We remain committed to serving San Francisco at our 15 remaining locations, and to ensure that our unionized workforce can perform their jobs in safe and secure working environments,” Safeway said. 

Some community members have said that they will oppose the closing of the store, including Rev. Erris Edgerly. 

“It’s obvious the community has been struggling, but to just up and leave without calling a meeting, with no alternative for groceries, is upsetting,” Edgerly told the San Francisco Chronicle. “There was no community outreach at all.”

“It’s going to make a big impact. I was hoping they would at least come to the table and say, ‘This is the issue, let’s work it out,’” he said.  

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“These are difficult decisions we make as a business with more than 255 stores across Northern California, and we do not take it lightly,” the Safeway store said. “We appreciate the time and resources you’ve invested in trying to help us find a way to stay open, but unfortunately, the challenges are too great to overcome.” 

Breed, who lost her re-election bid in November to Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie, said that she was “saddened” by Safeway’s decision. 

Safeway and Breed’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

San Francisco supervisor Dean Preston has also reportedly spoken out in light of Safeway’s announcement that it would close its Fillmore location. 

“I continue to believe that the best path forward to guarantee a future grocery store and affordable housing on this former redevelopment site is for the city to commence negotiations to acquire the site,” Preston said.