This much-debated Safeway supermarket finally opens in Sacramento next Wednesday
Safeway officials announced they will open their long-awaited supermarket in Crocker Village next Wednesday morning, March 6, following a “soft launch” the night before from 6 p.m. to midnight.
The supermarket will serve as an anchor in the fast-growing commercial mall at the south end of the 72-acre development site just north of Sutterville Road and west of the Curtis Park neighborhood.
“We’re excited to open a new Safeway in Crocker Village,” Brad Street, the company’s Northern California president, said in an earlier press statement. “This is an ideal location being centrally located and close to downtown Sacramento. We look forward to being part of the neighborhood and welcoming residents to our new store.”
Paul Petrovich, the developer of the Crocker Village project, said the project site ultimately will include 30 retailers, eateries and services. “The new development represents a spectacular next step for Sacramento’s second-largest infill project.”
The Safeway supermarket has been the center of an ongoing legal battle between the Crocker Village builder — Petrovich Development Co. — and the city of Sacramento over a gas station Safeway has said it wants to include at the site.
The City Council voted to deny a permit to build the gas station. A Sacramento Superior Court judge last year invalidated the city’s refusal, saying the city council’s 2015 vote was tainted by prejudice against Petrovich. The judge ordered the city to rehear the permit request.
The city instead appealed that ruling in the California 3rd District appellate court. The case is pending. A second lawsuit by Petrovich against the city for damages is pending in Sacramento Superior Court.
Petrovich, in his press release, said he rewrote his lease with Safeway to give the chain “the ability to close their store if the fuel center is ultimately denied. That would be a sad day for the community and me after all this effort and investment when the City has never denied a gas station in its entire history and to do so illegally.”
Andi Liebenbaum, president of the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association, which fought against the gas station, said last month she is delighted Safeway is coming in after all. “We think it’s great to have a supermarket in the neighborhood,” she said. “We’re looking forward to being helpful in Safeway’s success.”
Safeway had planned to hire 200 people from the nearby Oak Park neighborhood, Petrovich said. But, because the gas station is not included, the supermarket now plans to hire about half that amount. Petrovich blamed that on “the economic realities of not being able to sell fuel.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2019 at 11:15 AM.