Albertson's to Close 27 Southland Stores, 1 in Nearby Buena Park

The parent company of Albertsons announced plans Wednesday to close 27 of its under-performing grocery stores across the country, including 19 in Southern California, one of them in nearby Buena Park.

"These decisions are never easy because of the impact a store closure has on our team members, our customers and our communities,'' said Wayne Sales, president/CEO of Supervalu Inc. "Today's announcement reflects our commitment to move with a greater sense of urgency to reduce costs and improve shareholder value.''

The company's announcement did not include a list of stores being closed. The Los Angeles Times reported that stores in Buena Park, Long Beach, Glendale, Northridge and Van Nuys are among those on the chopping block. 

For several years the city of Cerritos was home to an Albertson's location off Norwalk and Artesia boulevards, but it has since been replaced with the Seafood City Supermarket. Since the change, diehard Albertson's shoppers have resorted to using locations in neighboring Lakewood and Buena Park. The Buena Park location on La Palma Avenue and Dale Street, however, is one of the stores that will be shutting down.

A statement from Supervalu indicated that the stores being closed are either under-performing or "non-strategic.''

Most of the affected stores are expected to be closed by December. Supervalu plans to close 60 of its stores nationally, including 22 Save- A-Lot stores, four ACME stores and a Jewel-Osco location.

--City News Service