To those that worked there, it was home. To nearby business owners, it was an anchor. To those that shopped there, it was a community. Whether customer, employee or neighbor, all agree that the Monroe Albertson's was far more than just a grocery store.
Albertson's opened its doors in July 1990, quickly becoming a staple of the Monroe community. Longtime employee Dave Hayes was assistant manager when the store first opened, worked there for seven years, left for a period, and returned in 2008 as the store director. Hayes maintained his position at the store when Haggen took over in February 2015, and remained with the store until it closed in November.
Hayes wasn't the only long-timer. The people who worked there tended to stick around.
The Monroe Albertson's was the first store to convert to Haggen, after a large-scale acquisition by the supermarket chain that involved 146 Albertson's and Safeway stores.
By Thanksgiving, it had closed its doors for good.
Employees and customers
According to those that worked and shopped there, prices were the first change after the Haggen conversion, which immediately began to climb.
Longtime Monroe resident Deanna Locke said once Alberton's became Haggen, she couldn't afford to shop there anymore. Haggen retained all of Albertson's personnel, which to her were like family, so she and her son, Ian, would stop by for small items, so that she could maintain the relationships she had developed over the years.
"I would go in there just to get milk or butter, or something very simple, just to socialize and bring Ian into the store,GÇ¥ Locke said. "I couldn't afford $14 a pound for meat.GÇ¥
Locke had been an Albertson's customer since the store opened its doors in 1990. She loved the customer service, the high-quality products and the way the employees responded to customers, she said. She became a regular, and when she had Ian, now 17, all the staff got to know him.
"Ian basically grew up in that store,GÇ¥ Locke said. "We've shopped at that store since he was an infant.GÇ¥
Ian is disabled and can't walk on his own, and Locke knew that she could always count on Albertson's employees to help her if she needed it. She recalled a period of time when Ian was having trouble sleeping at night; rather than disturbing her husband, she would load Ian in the van and take him down to Albertson's to shop.
The store was open 24 hours a day at that time, and they would shop at all hours of the night.
"The bakery people would come in at the crack of dawn and bring Ian out these fresh donuts,GÇ¥ Locke said. "That's the kind of store that they were.GÇ¥
It was that personal touch that Locke really valued. One time, Albertson's pharmacists caught an error related to her son's medications. That level of customer service is something Locke hasn't been able to find at other grocery stores, she said.
"They cared about the people that came into the store,GÇ¥ Locke said. "It was special. It was like walking into your favorite place to be, with all your most wonderful family and friends.GÇ¥
Joanie Hicks started working at the Monroe Albertson's in 1997. She worked there until 2004, left for a period of time and returned in March 2009. Like Hayes, she stayed on through the Haggen conversion, all the way up until the doors closed in November.
She confirmed prices went up at the store when it became Haggen, , estimating a 30-percent jump on items like cereal and peanut butter.
"Standing behind the meat counter all day long, you get people talking, and all people could talk about was prices,GÇ¥ Hicks said. "And there's nothing we can do about it.GÇ¥
The next thing she knew, her hours were getting cut. Soon, she wasn't even working enough to earn her benefits, which required a minimum of 60 hours per month. In order to maintain eligibility for her benefits, Hicks had to supplement her hours with vacation time; if she only accumulated 50 hours during the month, she would have to give up 10 vacation hours to make up the difference.
"In all the years I have worked in the grocery business, I have never, ever had a problem getting my benefits,GÇ¥ Hicks said. "And it just got worse and worse and worse. It was a really, really bad situation.GÇ¥
Despite the changes and the uncertainty, Hicks said staff remained like family. Over the years, they celebrated milestones like graduations, weddings and newborn babies. When life dealt them tragedy, like divorces or deaths, they mourned together and were there to support each other. As a result, their bonds ran deep.
"It was such a community store. That's what it was all about,GÇ¥ Hicks said. "It's just so hard to see it gone, and it's so hard to see that shopping center going down.GÇ¥
Some former "AlberhaggenGÇ¥ employees have left the grocery business, while others have moved on to other grocery stores.
"I'm not sure what it was about our store but it was amazing. We were a team and we worked like a team,GÇ¥ said a former employee who wanted to remain anonymous. "If the produce manager needed help with pumpkins at 6 a.m., the cake decorator would jump in and help. Things like this happened all the time.
"I saw these people more then I saw my own family. They weren't just my coworkers and they weren't my "work family' ' they were my second family. And they got taken away from me.GÇ¥
According to Hicks, Albertson's was a "Cinderella store.GÇ¥ The employees worked hard, they cared about the customers, they cared about the community and they cared about each other.
"We worked in a Cinderella grocery store. We really did,GÇ¥ Hicks said. "These other grocery stores that other coworkers have gone to work in are nothing like the store we worked in.GÇ¥
Surrounding businesses
The Albertson's/Haggen plaza is what is known as a grocery anchored strip mall. The loss of an anchor can disrupt the success of surrounding stores, which is why certain franchises require the presence of an anchor store.
Wild Birds Unlimited owner Leann Jacobson has taken a significant hit as a result of the closure. As soon as Haggen took over, her sales began to plummet, she said. Now, she's unsure how much longer she'll be able to stay in business. She has owned and operated Wild Birds Unlimited, a specialty store featuring fine gifts and bird food and feeding supplies for 15 years.
Her customers have come to know her two dogs, Sammy and Sally, and will often stop by just to see them, she said. She had hoped to remain in business for another three years, but is uncertain she'll be able to now.
"I am making the commitment to my customers that I will be here for at least a year,GÇ¥ Jacobson said. "I don't want to leave all the friends I've made here.GÇ¥
Jacobson and her staff at Wild Birds Unlimited pride themselves on being problem-solvers, she said. When customers have a bird house in their yard that is not being used, Jacobson will help them trouble-shoot to find the reason why. She does house calls, and has traveled as far away as Lake Stevens to feed a customer's birds for them when they've been unable. Wild Birds Unlimited features top-quality products, she said, all backed by a lifetime guarantee.
Jacobson has earned a name for herself among bird enthusiasts for her exceptional level of service and commitment, said customer Diane Bruner. All employees are trained in Jacobson's "five-second rule,GÇ¥ which means guests are greeted right away. When customers purchase bird seed, Jacobson or her staff carry the seed out to their cars.
"Even when she's hurting, she'll carry it out because that's what she does,GÇ¥ Bruner said.
Jacobson is involved in the Monroe community, and has held numerous special events at her store. Each year during Monroe's Swifts Night Out event, it is Jacobson who cooks the spaghetti dinner.
She also worries about the businesses around her.
"It's hitting all of us really hard,GÇ¥ Jacobson said. "We just are in a world of hurt.GÇ¥
The loss of an anchor store has impacted Fresh and Fancy Donuts, which, like Wild Birds Unlimited, reported reduced sales.
"It's slow,GÇ¥ said employee Fannie Chun.
According to Pet Pros, business hasn't necessarily dropped off, but it has changed. Rather than experiencing a steady influx of customers throughout the day, they come in peaks and waves, with periods of slowness interspersed with periods of high-volume sales.
Strand's Home Furnishings didn't report much of an impact, and owner Ron Strand dispelled rumors that Strand's would be moving to a new location once its lease is up.
"I just want to make it clear that at this point, I have no intentions of leaving the location I am currently in,GÇ¥ Strand said. "It is true that I have only about eight months left on my current lease, but I have confidence that me and the landlord will work something out.GÇ¥
Community partnerships
The store's closure hasn't only affected its customers and neighboring businesses. It's also had an impact on the Sky Valley Food Bank. Executive Director Neil Watkins said both Albertson's and Haggen were significant contributors to the food bank, due to company policy that edible food not be thrown away.
Albertson's program for donating items to food banks, Fresh Rescue, is innovative. The food bank was able to receive frozen meats and dairy products that were close to expiration, along with produce, which are typically challenging items for food banks to obtain.
"If it was coming close to expiration, it would come over to us and we'd be able to give it out,GÇ¥ Watkins said. "I have a whole crew that pulls through the produce, and if there's a leaf on the outside of the lettuce that's browning, we take that off and we give our clients the good part of the lettuce that is left.GÇ¥
After Haggen took over the store in February 2015, the "no wasteGÇ¥ policy didn't change, Watkins said.
"When Haggen's closed the door, that represented about 20 percent of the food donated to the food bank,GÇ¥ Watkins said. "It's had a real impact, and we're really having to scramble and buy more food and do the things that we have to do to make sure that we still have quality food for our client base.GÇ¥
They also lost store director Dave Hayes, who sat on the Sky Valley Food Bank Board of Directors.
"Dave Hayes was an amazing asset to this community,GÇ¥ Watkins said. "He's just a huge loss; the loss of the store is huge and the loss of Dave is huge.GÇ¥
The property management firm overseeing the Albertson's/Haggen property declined to comment on current efforts to find a new tenant.Photos by Chris Hendrickson The Monroe Haggen store, formerly AlbertsonGÇÖs, closed its doors in November and has stood empty ever since. According to nearby business owners, the closure has had a negative impact on their businesses. Wild Birds Unlimited owner Leann Jacobson reports business has slowed since Haggen's closure in November.
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