Haggen Store in Laguna Niguel May Become Smart & Final

Grocery shoppers in Laguna Niguel will get a Smart & Final if a pending court approval goes through, according to the Orange County Register. Smart & Final is in the process of buying the former Haggen grocery store in the city, in addition to a Haggen location in Corona del Mar.

The Haggen shakeout, which has three grocery store chains bidding on its locations in Orange County, comes about a month after the beleaguered Haggen chain “announced a plan to sell 36 of its stores to Gelson’s Markets and Smart & Final, including five in Orange County,” according to the OC Register.

Haggen, a Northwestern grocer that expanded south into Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties earlier this year, has placed 95 stores into an auction as the retailer feels the fallout of its bankruptcy in September.

Smart & Final has put in a bid on 32 Haggen locations.

On Monday in a court filing, Haggen announced plans to ditch its 32 core stores in Washington and Oregon after its aggressive expansion into California and four other Western states landed it in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to The Seattle Times.