Safeway Announces Closure Of Fillmore District Store In SF Due To Safety Issues, Thefts

West Coast supermarket chain Safeway announced Wednesday that their 40-year-old store in the Fillmore District of San Francisco will be closing in January due to a combination of continuing safety issues and a high number of thefts from the store.

For several years, large chains and small businesses alike have been leaving San Francisco, either closing permanently or relocating operations outside the city. In the case of small businesses, some have left the area entirely, moving out of state or to other areas in the state. In the last few years, for example, Walgreens has closed more and more stores in the city due to the massive amount of crime happening within it’s stores. Earlier this month they even announced a closure of 3 more stores across the Bay Area, amounting to a total of over two dozen closing since 2019.  Higher-end stores have also cited break-ins and crime as major reasons for leaving.

Grocery stores have also not been immune. Last year, Amazon Go closed all their stores in the city, with a flagship Whole Foods store closing after only one year in operation because of the high number of thefts and a low number of customers. While 2024 has been a quieter year for closures in the city, thanks in part to the violent crime rate going down somewhat, high number of store thefts kept up the stream of closures. This led to Wednesday when Safeway announced a new store closure in the city.

Originally, the Fillmore Safeway was scheduled to close in February, but outcry from local residents kept the store open throughout the year. However, mounting losses and safety concerns not improving throughout 2024 ultimately made Safeway end their reprieve of the store closing on Wednesday.

“The store had initially been set to close earlier this year, but Safeway extended its operations for an additional 11 months to provide a greater transition period for the community,” said Safeway in a statement. “We are proud of our 40-year history serving the Fillmore district and are thankful to the residents, customers, and community partners who have supported us over the years.”

They also later added that “The decision to close the store was due to ongoing concerns about safety involving customers and employees, along with persistent issues involving thefts at the location.”

Currently, the location is set to close on February 7th. However, no jobs will be lost as employees will be reassigned to the remaining Safeway locations in the city. Pharmacy accounts will also be moved.

The site is to become housing. As of Wednesday, it is currently unknown as to what kind of housing it will be. Developers want to turn the site into market-rate housing, while City Supervisor Dean Preston wants to make it affordable housing via the use of eminent domain by the city.

Like the previous Walgreens closures, few were surprised at Safeway finally closing the Fillmore District location.

“Crime and safety. That’s a big killer still in San Francisco,” said Pearl Fawcett, a retail store analyst, to the Globe on Wednesday. “Grocery stores are vital. They have pharmacies. They eliminate food deserts. They give affordable food options to even the poorest of residents. But the city doesn’t want to act more on retail thefts. All those people running out and taking $5 or $10 worth of food add up for stores.

“It isn’t a real surprise. And now they are talking about housing there. Great, but that just means other food stores in the area now have a greater burden. There’s going to be a lot of consequences for this, and city leaders there are not seeing the bigger picture.”

More store closures are expected in the city in the coming months as more leases begin to expire.