A POPULAR grocery store in Las Vegas is shutting its doors, with customers complaining about inconvenience.
Regional grocer Vons, which is owned by Albertsons, will offer discounts of up to 75%, though it’s currently unclear when the store will close.
The Vons location at 8540 W Desert Inn Road in Las Vegas, Nevada will be closing for good at an undetermined date, Albertsons said in a statement.
A Starbucks inside the store already closed on October 21.
Customer Colleen Hill said that even though there’s a Vons near her workplace, she prefers to shop at the Desert Inn Road store.
“It is, it’s a huge inconvenience,” Hill told the KLAS/8 News Now, the CBS affilliate in Las Vegas.
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Customers told reporters they'd miss the bargains they found at Vons.
Zdenka Favazzo, a store manager, spoke with the local news team.
“They’re difficult decisions, and we just make them,” she said of the choice to close the popular location.
Albertson’s released a statement on the store closure after the local news broadcaster was asked to leave the premises.
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It said the location was shutting to “help strengthen operational efficiencies.”
The company added that it would try to relocate all employees to other locations.
OTHER OPTIONS
There are several other Vons locations in the area.
Albertson’s says the pair of chains operate 42 stores in southern Nevada.
Brand-loyal customers will need to travel about five miles south to the next closest Vons on Durango Drive to make use of the company’s “Vons for U” rewards program.
They can also travel about five miles southeast to the closest Albertsons.
However, the nearest grocery store to the closing Vons is a Smith’s, just a six minute drive away.
GROCERY GRIPES
The nearby Smith’s is owned by grocery giant Kroger, which is currently planning a merger with Albertsons.
The merger includes selling off hundreds of stores, though it is unclear if this closure is a part of that plan.
The $25 billion merger is slated to impact 5,000 stores in 48 states.
The mega-merger has received some sharp criticism from unions and politicians alike.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, one of the several government body that rules on large business mergers and antitrust laws, called executives from both companies to testify in November 2022.
Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan recently visited Las Vegas to express concern that the merger would make grocers less competitive and create a monopoly.
If the FTC does not prevent the merger, it is expected to be finalized early next year.
This is not the only potential change on the horizon for the grocery market.
Stores like Walmart may not legally be allowed to check your receipt if you refuse, one lawyer said.
Receipt-checking is a common anti-theft practice at the mega retailer.
Membership-based stores like Costco, however, may be allowed to check.
Another lawyer on TikTok said that while stores cannot force customers to show receipts, they can detain people for refusing.
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