Outer Richmond District Albertsons Closes

By Chris Schmidt

Already short on supermarkets, residents of the Richmond District now have one less place to shop for groceries.

On July 30, the Albertsons store at 32nd Avenue and Clement Street went out of business, less than four years after opening its doors to neighborhood customers. The closure comes after a recent announcement that its parent company, Albertsons Inc., sold 661 of its stores for $9.7 billion to Albertsons LLC, an organization formed earlier this year and led by the private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management.

Cerberus Capital, a company known more for property management than produce and poultry, has taken over under-performing Albertsons outlets, according to corporate spokesperson Quyan Ha.

"We've been carefully reviewing the fiscal performance and structure of the businesses," said Ha. "Out of that process came a decision to shut down 12.4 percent of our lowest performing stores, which includes 37 locations in the Bay Area."

Albertsons is currently locked in a long-term lease at the Clement location, which means the structure will remain vacant until another party takes over the rental agreement.

The owner of the site, Dick Klein, did not want to comment about the decision to close Albertsons or what the future of the property may hold.

But some concerned residents say the site, which has previously been home to other grocery stores, has trouble retaining tenants.

"There was a Safeway here about 10 years ago," said shopper Maeir Larkin, a long-time Richmond resident. "The lot spent several years unoccupied before Albertsons moved in. It seems the location is not the best place for a retail venue."

Store employees, speaking under the condition of anonymity, said representatives from both the Safeway and Trader Joe's grocery chains had come to survey the space.

Yet, the site's future is still nebulous, and neighbors worry about who could move in.

"A vacant structure or an abandoned lot are definitely unappealing options, but at least they're not 99 cent stores," said Rannie Yoo, who resides just a few blocks away. "It's just a shame that the neighborhood will no longer have the convenience and selection of a big supermarket."

Senior employees will be reassigned to other locations, which, for many, means longer commute times and fewer hours. Those with less tenure were not so lucky.

"It came as a shock to us," said one produce clerk, who did not want to be identified. "Just last month, the new management told us nothing was going to change. Now I'm looking for another job."

Though many upset employees face the challenge of finding new jobs, they expressed sympathy for the regular customers that counted on a neighborhood supermarket.

"People fought hard to bring Albertsons to the Richmond," said one former clerk. "It doesn't seem fair that residents should have to trek far and wide for groceries because of corporate concern for the bottom line."