Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Haggen, dogged by problems, closes

Some customers unaware of closures but aware of no donuts

Haggen's Carlsbad/La Costa location
Haggen's Carlsbad/La Costa location

Nine months after announcing the biggest move into the Southern California grocery business, Washington-based Haggen Foods is giving up, leaving 127 California, Nevada, and Arizona stores vacant and laying off thousands of workers. 

The closures were announced at around 2:00 p.m. on September 24. I talked with Haggen shoppers around dinnertime that evening, at the Carlsbad location (7660 El Camino Real). Most were unaware of the news.

Perhaps a sign of Haggen’s problems — most customers walked out with just a few items at a time. 

Sponsored
Sponsored

Tom said he knew something was up two weeks ago when he took his five- and six-year-old boys for their usual Saturday-morning donuts. “There was no donuts,” he said. An employee told him the store didn’t get their shipment. “They weren’t paying their suppliers,” said Tom. 

Cory and Gwen said they didn’t care what name was on the building. “We’re come because of the former Albertsons employees that still work here,” said the La Costa residents, hoping some other store will take Haggen’s place.

Dean said Haggen never had the selection and quality that Albertsons had. “But I’m disappointed,” he said when he heard the news. “It’s a very convenient location to all of us in La Costa.”

A manager gathering carts in the parking lot said he couldn’t discuss the situation but invited me inside to speak with customers. “It’s pretty screwed up,” he said. As management, he won’t be able to return to his former employer, Albertsons.

With suppliers and creditors reportedly ready to cut them off, Haggen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection two weeks ago. The Haggen executive who shepherded the nine-billion-dollar acquisitions was fired a few months ago.    

Haggen, an 80-year-old chain in the Pacific Northwest, operated only 18 grocery stores in 2014 before buying Albertsons stores and entering the Southwestern U.S. region. The firm has since filed lawsuits claiming that Albertsons, which owns the Vons and Safeway chains, purposefully withheld important pricing and food-trend information. 

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Croome Brothers Trio, Jack Tempchin, Ricky, Swami & the Bed Of Nails, Kahlil Nash

Acoustic and electric in Del Mar, La Jolla, Little Italy, and City Heights
Next Article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
Haggen's Carlsbad/La Costa location
Haggen's Carlsbad/La Costa location

Nine months after announcing the biggest move into the Southern California grocery business, Washington-based Haggen Foods is giving up, leaving 127 California, Nevada, and Arizona stores vacant and laying off thousands of workers. 

The closures were announced at around 2:00 p.m. on September 24. I talked with Haggen shoppers around dinnertime that evening, at the Carlsbad location (7660 El Camino Real). Most were unaware of the news.

Perhaps a sign of Haggen’s problems — most customers walked out with just a few items at a time. 

Sponsored
Sponsored

Tom said he knew something was up two weeks ago when he took his five- and six-year-old boys for their usual Saturday-morning donuts. “There was no donuts,” he said. An employee told him the store didn’t get their shipment. “They weren’t paying their suppliers,” said Tom. 

Cory and Gwen said they didn’t care what name was on the building. “We’re come because of the former Albertsons employees that still work here,” said the La Costa residents, hoping some other store will take Haggen’s place.

Dean said Haggen never had the selection and quality that Albertsons had. “But I’m disappointed,” he said when he heard the news. “It’s a very convenient location to all of us in La Costa.”

A manager gathering carts in the parking lot said he couldn’t discuss the situation but invited me inside to speak with customers. “It’s pretty screwed up,” he said. As management, he won’t be able to return to his former employer, Albertsons.

With suppliers and creditors reportedly ready to cut them off, Haggen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection two weeks ago. The Haggen executive who shepherded the nine-billion-dollar acquisitions was fired a few months ago.    

Haggen, an 80-year-old chain in the Pacific Northwest, operated only 18 grocery stores in 2014 before buying Albertsons stores and entering the Southwestern U.S. region. The firm has since filed lawsuits claiming that Albertsons, which owns the Vons and Safeway chains, purposefully withheld important pricing and food-trend information. 

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader Music Issue short takes

Obervatory's mosh pit, frenetic Rafael Payare, Lemonhead chaos, bleedforthescene, Coronado Tasting Room
Next Article

Best Kratom Capsules: Top Brands, Benefits & Where To Buy

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.