Bradlee Safeway to Close July 13

By Mary Ann Barton

The Bradlee Safeway located at 3526 King St. will close July 13 so the company can demolish the old store and build a new one, store officials confirmed Monday.

"We made the determination this past Thursday that it would close July 13," said Safeway spokesman Craig Muckle.

No employees at the Bradlee Safeway will lose their jobs, Muckle said. They will be dispersed to the store of their choosing, he noted.

There is no firm date of when the new store will open, but Muckle said they hope to open the new store in 2014. "It's too early to tell," he said.

Demolition of the old store will begin "once the store is closed and we have a better sense for that, of what things need to take place, like power being shut off and other utilities. As we get into that, we'll have a better sense of when that will happen."

Safeway will not mark the closing with any fanfare, Muckle said. "Obviously we know, losing a grocery store, in this case there seem to be several (Beauregard Giant, Bradlee Giant, Magruder's on Kenmore Avenue) either going away temporarily or forever. We do have at least a couple of nearby alternatives, though not as convenient as the Safeway at Bradlee."

Read more about the grocery store changes this year in Alexandria:

• King Street Safeway Renovations Delayed
• Giant Expanding Duke Street Location
• Magruder's Closing All Locations
• Bradlee Giant Closing

New Store Highlights: Bigger, More Parking

Some of the highlights of the new store: "It's going to be a much larger store, in the neighborhood of 55,000 square feet, with some sheltered parking, some parking below the store, at grade—we're not digging any holes," he said.

Expect to see larger produce, deli, seafood, wine and floral departments, he said, as well as a likely Starbucks and Bergmann's dry cleaners.

"As much as we hate to go away, it's painful for people, we understand that, we will come back with a lot of fanfare," Muckle said.

While the store will see a significant "sell-down" in the week leading up to July 13, Muckle said, "we're still a month away, through the 4th of July you should still see appropriate levels" of grocery items for sale.