New Haggen Grocery Store Opening June 2 (formerly Albertsons) (Prescott, Prescott Valley: sale, coupon)

[like-2-hike]

According to the Arizona Republic, the Albertsons will shut down on May 31 and re-open on June 2 as a Haggen grocery store. Prior to the merger of Safeway and Albertsons, Haggen only operated 18 stores, and after they complete their acquisition/conversion, they'll operate 164. Hopefully that massive growth doesn't screw things up for them.

It'll be interesting to have another grocery option in town (even if it's no net gain). The PV Albertsons gets converted the following two days (close on June 2, re-open on June 4), and the Safeways in town stay Safeways, I believe.

Here's the article in case you're interested:
Haggen to convert grocery stores in Arizona by early June


I wasn't going to be too sad about the change, but now that I think about it, I really like Albertsons' private label frozen pizza - guess I need to stock up (or hope it takes over at Safeway).

[BriansPerspective]

It doesn't sound like they're doing much besides changing the name. How much remodeling can they do in two days? I've never liked the Albertsons in Prescott Valley. Fry's in PV is probably the nicest grocery store in the entire Prescott area, but we are closer to Safeway, so we end up shopping there mostly.

[agorski]

Consumer Reports just rated grocery stores. Fry's did pretty good, Albertson's and Safeway, not so much.

[bigbuglf]

So has anyone here been to Haggen since it opened? If so, what do you think? I will probably get into town soon to check it out. We liked the meat at Albertson's and much of their private label stuff. Also, I will miss their whoopie cakes!

[like-2-hike]

Originally Posted by bigbuglf

So has anyone here been to Haggen since it opened? If so, what do you think? I will probably get into town soon to check it out. We liked the meat at Albertson's and much of their private label stuff. Also, I will miss their whoopie cakes!

I've been to the Prescott one several times now. I want to like it, but the prices just aren't very competitive overall.

Things I do like:

• Cheese samples ($2 - for a small 1-2oz block of fancy-ish cheese - ~8 varieties). I've discovered I'm a huge fan of Bella Vitano cheeses (although if buying a larger size, Fry's has them for ~25% less).
• Deli prepared salad/food options (Thai and Aioli come to mind)
• Produce - they have a pretty broad selection (including persimmons, dragon fruit, passion fruit, etc.)
• Meat - the pre-formed bacon cheeseburger burger patty was delicious (had it for dinner last night)

Unfortunately, they're still very much in-flux - lots of Albertsons private label stuff still and lots of empty shelf/freezer space (presumably to be filled with Haggen private label stuff).

If you like pluots (or plums) - the "Dinosaur Egg" variety (mottled red/green) they had on sale for $3/lb. were absolutely delicious - very ripe, juicy, fragrant, and tasty. Not like most grocery store fruit I get that looks great but is generally devoid of flavor.

Finally, they had 8.5"x11" flyers with a $5 off $25 coupon at the checkout stands. You might ask for one (or a few) to make the prices more palatable.

[fluffythewondercat]

Do any of these grocery stores do home delivery?

[House4kids]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

Do any of these grocery stores do home delivery?

http://www.bonappetitdelivery.com/r/...ocery-Delivery

[bigbuglf]

Thanks for the good info., like-2-hike! I was a bit worried about higher prices. Hopefully things will improve after they get settled in a bit. I forgot they changed the Prescott store too...

[Magnum Mike]

That doesn't surprise me, although I've always liked Albertson's mainly because of the products they carry that are not available at other stores, their prices are slightly higher than those of Fry's, but that didn't bother me.

Fry's, which has been Kroger's for a few years now, has been an Arizona iconic grocery chain for as long as I can remember and they seem to have a monopoly in the business.

I'm not sure if the name Safeway will disappear forever, but I know that the Safeway stores in southern California are now Von's, I don't know when they changed over but that was another grocery chain that has also been in Arizona for as long as I can remember.

[like-2-hike]

Originally Posted by bigbuglf

Thanks for the good info., like-2-hike! I was a bit worried about higher prices. Hopefully things will improve after they get settled in a bit. I forgot they changed the Prescott store too...

No worries - I hope they're successful so that we have multiple options for groceries and so that the employees have jobs. If you visit and find it unpleasant, maybe give it a few weeks or so. And if you haven't yet checked out Sprouts (in PV), they're a great option for produce and other things.

Originally Posted by Magnum Mike

I'm not sure if the name Safeway will disappear forever, but I know that the Safeway stores in southern California are now Von's, I don't know when they changed over but that was another grocery chain that has also been in Arizona for as long as I can remember.

I was always under the impression that Safeway/Von's/Dominick's had the multiple name thing going for a while. I remember seeing the different names in California and Chicago, but noticed they had the same ownership. In looking at the Wikipedia article (Safeway Inc. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.), the Chicago location I saw closed about 18 months ago. That same article expands on the Von's relationship.

Safeway here should be okay for the short term - the whole point of divesting the Albertsons locations here was to keep the Safeway stores going...