After being open only a few months since the transition from Safeway to, Bellingham,Wa. based Haggen Northwest Fresh, the chain is making plans to close down it's store in Liberty Lake. The store is located at 1233 N. Liberty Lake Rd. seen here before the switch when it was still a Safeway.
The closure is a direct result of the Haggen grocery store chain's recent bankruptcy filing. This location was the only Haggen branded grocery store in the Spokane area. It was one of the locations purchased by Haggen from Safeway / Albertson's , which was the beginning of the downturn for Haggen, growing too fast and now involved in a lawsuit with Albertson's and chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The closure must be ok'd first by the bankruptcy court and then the locations affected will be given 60 days notice. It is assumed employees will all be laid off and the building will go up for lease. Liberty Lake is one of 14 stores in Washington State under the Haggen name that will close, but it's not as bad as the Southwestern US, where all Haggen stores will close their doors. A map of all closing store locations can be found via this Seattle Times article- http://www.seattletimes.com/business/retail/haggen-wants-to-close-100-additional-stores/
For more information on Haggen, visit their website at-
www.haggen.com