Port Orchard Safeway opens April 27; store to hire 75 new employees

From the ashes of what once was the Haggen grocery business on Lund and Jackson, a newly reconstituted Safeway will soon rise in its place. The empty building is being rebranded under the Safeway banner, restocked and will open to shoppers April 27, said Tairsa Worman, Safeway public affairs manager in Bellevue.

From the ashes of what once was the Haggen grocery business on Lund and Jackson, a newly reconstituted Safeway will soon rise in its place.

The empty building is being rebranded under the Safeway banner, restocked and will open to shoppers April 27, Tairsa Worman, Safeway public affairs manager in Bellevue, said by phone.

The company said March 24 that it will hire 75 new employees over the next several weeks to staff the store at 3355 Bethel Rd. SE. Worman said Safeway is seeking to fill full and part-time positions. She said those positions will be in the deli, meat, customer service, bakery and produce departments.

Open interviews have been scheduled for Monday, March 28 through Friday, April 1. Interviews will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the store, Worman said.

Safeway representatives will be on hand to pre-screen candidates and schedule follow-up interviews with qualified applicants, she added. Job seekers can also apply online at www.careerssafeway.com.

After hiring is complete, Safeway expects to have at least 120 employees working at the Port Orchard store.

“We will be considering employee requests to transfer on a case by case basis.” Worman said. “We are primarily focused on offering positions to employees who worked in this location previously.”

An AlaskaUSA Credit Union branch, also vacant, is located inside the building. Worman said it’s uncertain if the branch will reopen.

Haggen purchased the Port Orchard Safeway store from parent company Albertsons in late December 2014 and converted it, along with others across the West Coast, to carry the Haggen brand. The Bellingham-based grocery chain was overburdened by the debt it took on with the purchase and, late last year, entered into Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Albertsons’ parent company successfully bid for a number of the beleaguered Haggen stores late last year, including the Port Orchard location.

From the ashes of what once was the Haggen grocery business on Lund and Jackson, a newly reconstituted Safeway will soon rise in its place.

The empty building is being rebranded under the Safeway banner, restocked and will open to shoppers April 27, said Tairsa Worman, Safeway public affairs manager in Bellevue.

The company said March 24 that it will hire 75 new employees over the next several weeks to staff the store at 3355 Bethel Rd. SE. Worman said Safeway is seeking to fill full and part-time positions. She said those positions will be in the deli, meat, customer service, bakery and produce departments.

Open interviews have been scheduled for Monday, March 28 through Friday, April 1. Interviews will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the store, Worman said.

Safeway representatives will be on hand to pre-screen candidates and schedule follow-up interviews with qualified applicants, she added. Job seekers can also apply online at www.careerssafeway.com.

Safeway wasn’t absent from Port Orchard for long. Haggen purchased the store from parent company Albertsons in late December 2014 and converted the Port Orchard store along with others across the West Coast to the Haggen brand. The Bellingham-based grocery chain was overburdened by the debt it took on with the purchase and, late last year, entered into Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Albertsons’ parent company successfully bid for a number of the beleaguered Haggen stores late last year. The Port Orchard location will revert to its former status as a Safeway-branded store.
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