San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Safeway to close its doors after 40 years
SAN FRANCISCO – After 40 years serving San Franciscans, a Safeway grocery store in the Fillmore District is closing its doors for good.
The grocer on Webster Street plans to sell its 3.68 acres at Webster Plaza to Align Real Estate, which plans on building a mixed-use development at its location, a spokesperson for Safeway said.
The store plans on shutting down “on or around early March.”
Housing and commercial retail space is anticipated for the location. Safeway said they view the closure as a way to “positively impact” the San Francisco community to help the city’s housing shortages.
“Safeway has proudly served the Fillmore District for 40 years. All associates at the Webster Safeway will be re-assigned to another store in the San Francisco area, and we remain committed to serving San Francisco at our remaining 15 locations,” read a statement.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Webster Street store has seen some “controversy” after they shut down their self-checkout kiosks last year to combat theft. The store also played classical music to prevent people from loitering in their parking lot, which ended up annoying some neighbors, the outlet reported.
Mayor London Breed told the Chronicle that the closure is a “real and rare opportunity to add a significant amount of new homes” in the Fillmore District.
“While in the short-term we are losing a grocery store in the community, there is also a new Trader Joe’s opening nearby and an opportunity for a new market on the site,” Breed said to the Chronicle.
Supervisor Dean Preston, who represents the district where the store is located, had a different view of the closure.
“We are extremely concerned with the potential loss of this grocery store in the heart of the Fillmore, and especially the possibility of losing it as soon as March, which we view as unacceptable,” Preston told the Chronicle.
KTVU reached out to Preston and is awaiting a response.
Recently, a Safeway store in Santa Clara closed its doors over its “inability to meet financial expectations.”
The closest Safeway store from the plaza is located in the Castro district on Market Street, a little over a mile away.
What’s New
Hilton hotel workers in San Francisco voted on Christmas Eve to approve a new union contract after a 93-day strike, according to the Unite Here Local 2 union.
The union, which represents about 15,000 workers in the region, announced that the deal settles the last of the city’s 2024 hotel strikes, covering approximately 900 Hilton workers.
Newsweek has contacted Unite Here Local 2 and Hilton via email for comment.
Justin Sullivan/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Why It Matters
The new contracts after this year’s strikes establish significant improvements in wages, health care and workload protections for workers at Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott-operated hotels.
The agreements conclude months of labor unrest that involved thousands of workers and disrupted San Francisco’s hotel industry.
What To Know
Hilton workers voted 99.4 percent in favor of the agreement on Christmas Eve, which includes a $3 per hour immediate wage increase, additional raises, and protections against understaffing and increased workloads.
The four-year contract preserves affordable union health insurance and provides pension increases. The deal covers workers at Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Parc 55, with 650 workers having actively participated in the strike.
This agreement follows similar contracts reached with Hyatt workers on Friday and Marriott workers last Thursday, covering a total of 2,500 workers who had been on strike since late September.
What People Are Saying
Bill Fung, a housekeeping attendant at Hilton San Francisco Union Square for 29 years, said: “These 93 days have not been easy, and I’m so proud that my coworkers and I never gave up. We stood together through the rain and cold, and even though there were some hard days, it was all worth it. We will go back to work with our health care, good raises, and the confidence of knowing that when we fight, we win.”
Lizzy Tapia, President of Unite Here Local 2, said: “Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott workers refused to give up their health care or go backwards – and we proved on the picket line that we’re not afraid of a tough fight. As contract talks begin with the city’s other full-service hotels in the new year, they should know that this is the new standard they must accept for their own employees.”
San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie said on X: “All those that have been out on strike will be back to work, and just in time for Christmas. So, things are looking bright as we head into 2025.
What Happens Next
Unite Here Local 2 said it would push for other full-service hotels in San Francisco to adopt the same standards established by the Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott agreements when contract negotiations resume in 2025.
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