The grocery store sector has faced economic challenges over the last two years, with several supermarket chains revealing plans to close several stores.

Huge grocery chain Kroger said in June 2025 that it would close about 60 stores nationwide in the next 18 months.

“We’re simplifying our business and reviewing areas that will not be meaningful to our future growth,” Kroger CEO Ron Sargent said during the company’s first quarter earnings call. “Unfortunately, today, not all of our stores are delivering the sustainable results we need. 

“To position our company for future success, this morning, we announced plans to close approximately 60 stores over the next eighteen months,” Sargent said. “We don’t take these decisions lightly, but this will make the company more efficient.”

Also, Safeway Stores, owned by Albertsons Companies, revealed that it will close 12 stores, mostly in Colorado, by Nov. 7. The company suggested to KOAA News5 that the stores were not performing up to the company’s expectations.

Supermarket chains closing stores:

• Kroger, 60 stores
• Safeway, 12 stores
• Save A Lot, 40 stores

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. said it substantially completed its restructuring plan in the second quarter, which began in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Grocery chain cancels leases for unopened stores

Under the plan, the company cancelled 23 store leases of unopened stores in underperforming locations, 15 of which were planned to open in 2025 and eight that were planned in 2026.

Grocery Outlet also cancelled costly warehouse projects and instead invested in lower-cost distribution centers for dry goods. The company also said it would lay off 40 employees in the first quarter of 2025.

Not all grocery chains are on the location-closing bandwagon, as a major discount supermarket brand is reversing course and reopening its stores at several locations.

Grocery chain Save A Lot reopens stores

Save A Lot, one of the largest independently owned discount grocery chains in the U.S., reopened 27 of its branded stores in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania after a failed rebranding of the stores in 2024, the company said in a statement.

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The stores were rebranded in late 2024, using brands such as Value Food Market or Value Foods Market, Akron Beacon Journal reported, but were returned to the Save A Lot brand over the summer months.

The stores had been “improperly rebranded in 2024,” the company statement said.

“Working to re-establish both high operational and financial standards, the stores once again offer local customers Save A Lot’s outstanding value on an assortment of fresh, affordable, healthy foods, along with 50+ high-quality, award-winning private label brands,” according to the statement.

Save A Lot holds grand reopening events

Save A Lot began hosting grand reopening events in July and August and donated $15,500 to local charities.

“We’re delighted to reintroduce Save A Lot to these markets and support the community,” the company’s CEO Bill Mayo said in the statement. “Save A Lot is committed to provide high quality food and outstanding value to our customers.”

More closings:

• Major furniture manufacturer closes down, no bankruptcy
• Iconic pizza chain’s franchisees close multiple restaurants
• Iconic retail chain closing over 100 stores in bankruptcy

The stores that reopened are located in Akron, Barberton, Columbus, Dayton, Garretsville, Galion, Toledo, and Wadsworth , Ohio; Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Peru, Ind.; and Erie, Pa.

Save A Lot, founded in 1977, claims to be the largest independently owned and operated discount grocery store chain, with about 700 stores in 30 states.

The St. Louis-based grocery store operator in 2023 sold off its remaining stores to independent operators and transitioned to a wholesaler and licensor for the Save A Lot store network, Supermarket News reported at the time.

The grocery chain closed about 40 stores in the U.S. in 2024, The Sun reported.

Save A Lot 27 rebranded locations:

Ohio

• 3333 Manchester Rd, Akron, OH 44319
• 1400 S Arlington St, Akron, OH 44306
• 25 W Miller Ave, Akron, OH 44301
• 530 E Tallmadge Ave, Akron, OH 44310
• 1375 Copley Rd, Akron, OH 44320
• 544 Canton Rd, Akron, OH 44312
• 205 N Wooster Rd, Barberton, OH 44203
• 44203 204 High St, Wadsworth, OH 44281
• 8005 State St, Garrettsville, OH 44231
• 3434 Cleveland Ave, Columbus, OH 43224
• 1254 Morse Rd, Columbus, OH 43229
• 4930 W Broad St, Columbus, OH 43228
• 1026 Patterson Rd, Dayton, OH 45420
• 4233 N Main St, Dayton, OH 45405
• 2152 N Gettysburg Ave, Dayton, OH 45406
• 2626 W Laskey Rd, Toledo, OH 43613
• 657 E Manhattan Blvd, Toledo, OH 43608
• 1703 Airport Hwy, Toledo, OH 43609
• 845 Portland Way N, Galion, OH 44833

Indiana

• 3739 E Washington St, Indianapolis, IN 46201
• 2930 E 38th St, Indianapolis, IN 46218
• 8101 Pendleton Pike, Indianapolis, IN 46226
• 840 Bluffton Rd, Fort Wayne, IN 46809
• 3310 E Paulding Rd, Fort Wayne, IN 46816
• 25 Broadway Plaza, Peru, IN 46970

Pennsylvania

• 2026 Broad St, Erie, PA 16503
• 2209 W 12th St, Erie, PA 16505

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