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Safeway will reopen early next year Customers make their way to and from cars in the parking at Safeway prior to its takeover by Haggen. It's now due to reopen as a Safeway early next year. Mail Tribune / file photo Monday Oct 31, 2016 at 2:00 AM Oct 31, 2016 at 6:42 AM By Jim Flint for the Mail Tribune Little activity has been seen recently at the old Ashland Safeway store at the corner of Siskiyou Boulevard and Sherman Street, which closed more than a year ago and was originally scheduled to reopen in early November. Now the projected opening is the first quarter or early second quarter of 2017, said Jill McGinnis, public affairs and communications manager for the Portland division of Safeway/Albertsons. “We are genuinely looking forward to bringing back the Safeway brand to Ashland next year,” McGinnis said. “Our hopes are to exceed what residents are looking for in their local grocery store.” The store was acquired by Albertsons in a merger but was sold in 2015 along with many other Safeway stores when the Federal Trade Commission cited antitrust issues. It was bought by the Washington-based Haggen chain and operated for several months under the Haggen name. When that chain filed for bankruptcy in September 2015, the store was closed and some 75 employees were laid off. After Haggen sued Albertsons for unfair trade practices, the FTC allowed Albertsons to buy back 33 Safeway stores out of bankruptcy, including the one in Ashland. Since then the company has been scouring the country for ideas. “We’ve been taking some time to review innovative assortments in an effort to put what makes the most sense into our Ashland location,” McGinnis said. “Our construction team is still in the approval process, so very little work has begun at the physical site.” Asbestos was removed from the store in the spring. The store will have all new cases in the meat and produce sections with an increased variety of organic items and a bulk foods department. The meat department will feature an enlarged fresh seafood section. “We are currently still working out the coffee bar,” McGinnis said, “which will most likely be Starbucks. But this has not been confirmed yet.” The store plans to offer an increased variety of specialty and gourmet items as well as a revamped delicatessen. When the store reopens, customers are likely to recognize many of the employees. “We are working on having as many familiar faces as possible for our customers,” McGinnis said. Safeway had operated its downtown Ashland location for nearly 50 years. After it closed, it left a sort of food desert in the center of town, with the other major supermarkets located mainly on the south end of Ashland. The Ashland Food Co-op is the only full-service market close to the north end. — Reach Ashland freelance writer Jim Flint at [email protected].