After more than 40 years, the Safeway at the Hechinger Mall in Northeast D.C. is set to close its doors for the final time on May 16. Its pharmacy will close on April 1.
The closure of the mainstay grocery store comes on the heels of the Dollar Store closing at the same shopping center.
“Like all retailers, we are constantly evaluating our store footprint and have to look at every angle of the business. This includes our real estate portfolio. We are coming to the end of our lease at this location and have made the decision to reinvest our resources into other existing stores,” Safeway said in an emailed statement to WTOP.
The grocery store chain also said staff members who are interested in staying with the company have the opportunity to be reassigned to other nearby stores.
Cherene, a longtime customer at the shopping center, said one of the things she’ll miss most is the store’s staff.
“They are friendly,” she said. “I’m sad that they are leaving.”
Many customers felt the same way, like 68-year-old Mike, who said he’s been shopping there since the store opened in the ’80s.
“I don’t know why they are going to let it go,” Mike said.
As Mike got out of his car in the Safeway parking lot, he pointed to all of the five- and six-story apartment buildings nearby and said he felt bad for the people who lived there, since a grocery store would no longer be so convenient.
There’s an Aldi nearby, but the only other close by Safeway locations are in Mt. Vernon Square and off Potomac Avenue in Southeast.
Pulling into a parking spot close to the store’s entrance was Margie Maddox. Maddox, an 81-year-old customer, entered the store dressed in all pink.
“I think it’s terrible because we really need someplace to buy our food. That means we’ll have to travel to H Street. A lot of older people don’t have cars to get to where they need to go. This is really going to cause a lot of problems for us,” Maddox said.
As Maddox headed into the store, following not too far behind was Alexis, who was pushing her daughter Drew in a shopping cart.
Alexis, who had no idea the store was closing until Wednesday, said, “They didn’t need to close it, but they could renovate it.”
“I like it. It’s in a good area,” she added.