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Ashland Safeway to reopen April 26 Monday Feb 20, 2017 at 2:28 PM Feb 20, 2017 at 2:28 PM By Jim Flint for the Mail Tribune Safeway/Albertsons has set a grand opening date of April 26 for the Ashland Safeway store, currently being remodeled. Work has begun on the interior, with major changes in store, including a Starbucks outlet. Outside, the main entrance is being relocated to the middle of the front facade. A low wall on the west side of the store encloses what will be an outdoor lounging area for customers. Some of those customers may use the space for a casual lunch from the deli or the new fresh sushi department, where an in-house chef will prepare sushi menu items. It’s been a long haul for the store, caught up in the Safeway/Albertsons merger about two years ago. First, the store was sold to the Washington-based Haggen chain to satisfy Federal Trade Commission antitrust concerns. Then it was closed when Haggen filed for bankruptcy in the fall of 2015. The store gained a new lease on life when Safeway/Albertsons was allowed to buy back 33 divested Safeway stores, the Ashland facility among them. Since then the company has worked to plan, remodel and reopen the store. Company officials expect to provide about 100 jobs when the store reopens, hiring many of those who worked there before. The store, located at the intersection of Siskiyou Boulevard and Sherman Street, has been in Ashland for nearly 50 years. — Jim Flint is a former newspaper publisher and editor now living in Ashland. Reach him at [email protected].