Grocery store in southwest valley to close

A grocery store in the southwest Las Vegas Valley is expected to close soon.

The Vons located at Desert Inn Road and Durango Drive will close to “help strengthen operational efficiencies,” a representative from Vons’ parent company Albertsons said in a statement this week. An exact closure date has not been set.

Albertsons officials said the company will place workers in other stores in the region.

The company said the closure was unrelated to the pending merger between Albertsons and grocery store giant Kroger.

Albertsons and Kroger, operating as the Smith’s, Albertsons, Vons and Safeway brands in Nevada, announced the $24.6 billion merger agreement in October 2022. The two companies have said they want to close the deal by early 2024.

Fifteen Albertsons stores in Nevada are expected to be sold if regulators approve the merger. Those locations have not yet been publicly identified.

The divestiture sale plan to C&S Wholesale, which operates the Piggly Wiggly and Grand Union grocery chains in the Midwest, South and Northeast, is part of an effort to quell antitrust concerns from the Federal Trade Commission.

Kroger and Albertsons officials say the divestiture plan ensures that no stores will close from the merger. C&S Wholesale has agreed to honor existing collective bargaining agreements at unionized stores.

Other grocery stores in the area of the closing Vons include two Albertsons locations, at 2550 South Fort Apache Road and 1001 South Rainbow Blvd.

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.