Safeway Inc. said Wednesday it plans to close two Eugene stores next month while moving ahead with plans to renovate other stores in this market.
The two "underperforming" stores - one at 2060 River Road, near Belt Line Road, and one at 945 Bailey Hill Road, at West 11th Avenue - will close Sept. 8, company spokesman Dan Floyd said.
Floyd said the 99 employees of the two stores will have an opportunity to work at other Safeways in the area but added that the company could not guarantee them jobs at other stores.
"Ideally, most of them will stay within that market," he said. "Some may choose not to work for Safeway and some may choose to work outside the market."
The 54,000-square-foot Bailey Hill Road store opened in 1989, but never performed up to expectations, Floyd said.
"It was underperforming at a very low level," he said. "We tried everything and it was not working."
The company owns the Bailey Hill Road property, but Floyd said he didn't know if Safeway would seek to lease it or put it on the market.
The River Road store opened in 1968 and is just 24,000 square feet - about half the size of modern grocery stores. Floyd said Safeway leases the River Road store and will be seeking tenants for the space.
The closures will allow Safeway to renovate its other stores in the area, he said. Work on a renovation of the East 18th Safeway began in June, the Cottage Grove Safeway at 1500 E. Main St. is next, with work set to begin there late in the year, he said.
Three other stores - two in Springfield and one in south Eugene - will be renovated by the end of 2008, Floyd said, but no firm dates have been set for those projects.
The stores will be remodeled in the company's new "Lifestyles" format, which includes an expanded selection of perishable goods, a large selection of natural and organic foods, full-service meat and seafood counters, full-service bakery, a floral design center, olive bar and expanded food service and deli.
Two local Safeways have already undergone the "Lifestyles" transformation: The Coburg Road store in Eugene, and the Junction City store.
Floyd wouldn't say how much Safeway was spending on the projects, except that it would run into the millions of dollars. The 2005 renovation of the Coburg Road store cost about $2 million, according to earlier reports.
Floyd said the grocery industry is highly competitive - nationally, grocers operate on a slight 1.14 percent profit margin, leaving little room for error.
Customers of the River Road Safeway said Wednesday they were sorry to learn the store will close.
Michael Engen lives close enough to ride his bike to the store.
He shops other stores, but likes Safeway for its meat, produce, vitamins and soft drinks.
"I'd rather it not close," he said.
Pam Malcolm, who shops at the River Road store infrequently, said she wasn't surprised at the closure given the nearby competition - Fred Meyer, Albertson's and a new Ray's Food Place on River Road.
"It's kind of sad," she said. "It's convenient if you're going to Bi-Mart" next door.
Cheryl Stewart also described herself as an infrequent shopper, so the closure won't affect her much.
"I think it's sad for the people who are walking distance who are relying on it for bread and milk," she said.
Diane Walters said she or someone from her family shops at the River Road store once a day.
"I'm bugged," she said. "It makes me sad."
Safeway opened its first store in Eugene in 1935.
