What will become of busy South End street corner after Fred Meyer closes?
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- Fred Meyer on Pacific Ave in Tacoma set to close in September after decades.
- Closure marks second Kroger-owned store shuttering in WA amid 60-store cutback.
- Local leaders seek new tenant to fill site, highlight community hub's lasting impact.
The announced closure of a longtime grocery store in Tacoma’s South End attracted mixed reactions from residents. Some people expressed melancholy, recalling a destination of their childhood. Others said the store had seen better days.
On Wednesday evening, a corporate representative for the Fred Meyer/QFC division of Kroger confirmed to The News Tribune that the Fred Meyer at 7250 Pacific Ave. would close after decades operating at that location.
The planned September closure comes on the heels of an earlier announcement that a QFC in Mill Creek also would close that month. In June, Kroger announced plans to shutter 60 stores nationwide over the next 18 months.
One longtime employee at the Tacoma store told The News Tribune on Thursday that his colleagues were processing the news and that customers were reaching out “saying how hard this will be for them as well.”
The store is a full-service Fred Meyer, offering clothing, household items and groceries along with a gas station on the premises.
Andrea Haug serves as chair of the South End Neighborhood Council. She said her phone on Thursday was “on fire” with residents upset about Kroger’s decision.
“People are panicking,” Haug told The News Tribune on Thursday afternoon. “All day long, nonstop messages from concerned community members.”
She noted that when Grand Pacific apartments were constructed near the store, “one of the amenities was its close proximity to the Fred Meyer. So they just put a whole bunch of people right there.”
“We need a grocery store there, we need that resource,” she added.
City Council member Joe Bushnell, whose district is home to the Fred Meyer, said in a statement Thursday, “For years, this store has been more than just a place to shop; it has been a community hub, a vital source of groceries and prescriptions, and an employer for many of our residents.”
Bushnell said his immediate concern was for the affected employees and their families.
“We are encouraged that Kroger has committed to offer each impacted associate the opportunity to transfer to a new location, and Tacoma’s workforce development partners stand ready to provide resources and support to any individual who needs it,” he stated.
Rocky times
The Fred Meyer shopping center site in recent years has made headlines both for crime and crime-fighting measures.
In 2012, a rash of muggings targeting elderly shoppers in the metro area included a 90-year-old victim whose purse was snatched in the Fred Meyer parking lot as she returned to her car from shopping. The assault gained regional media attention.
In 2018, a 10-year-old Girl Scout and her mother were the target of an attempted armed robbery at the girl’s cookie stand in front of the store. Undeterred, mother and daughter set up shop there again not long afterward, and were met with brisk sales. One man was later charged and convicted in the case.
In 2019, The News Tribune reported on how Fred Meyer added a security-camera tower to the parking lot to help deter crime, along with adding new security cameras in the store.
“What we’re hoping with that is that it’s going to continue to decrease incidents in the parking lot like disorderly conduct, vehicle prowls, break-ins, drug activity,” Rebecca Leeper, the store’s asset protection manager, told The News Tribune at the time.
“We do have people around here that are low income, and we have regulars, families from around here, there’s a retirement home,” she said. “They come over here every day, and they sit on the bench and they get their coffee. For some people, this is their main place to come.”
In May 2021, The News Tribune reported that the store was one of nearly 30 locations where Fred Meyer was entering into sale-leaseback agreements, creating new 25-year leases for the sites.
Fred Meyer’s then-media representative Jeffery Temple told The News Tribune: “What this means for Fred Meyer and our customers is that we have entered into new 25-year leases that help ensure that we can keep our stores in place for many years to come.”
In 2022, Fred Meyer’s parent company Kroger announced its intent to merge with Albertsons/Safeway. One encouraging sign at the time: The South End store was not on the divestiture list to be spun off.
The store’s neighbors continued to take action for improvements, most recently with a community space beautification project on land behind the store, of which Fred Meyer donated $2,500 in 2023 for a community block party in the space.
The South End Neighborhood Council put about $140,000 and hours of volunteer labor into the beautification effort, The News Tribune reported in May 2025.
“People could go to the store because they could walk down the street to get there, and they hadn’t been able to in a long time,” South End Neighborhood Council vice chair Rachel Kunze said at the time.
The Kroger-Albertsons merger deal was rejected by the courts by the end of 2024, and legal fights between the two grocery giants continue.
Kroger in June announced it would be reducing its numbers of stores nationwide after reportedly spending more than $1 billion over three years pursuing the merger effort.
‘Lots of memories there’
Online reaction to the news of the South End store closure noted that it was an end of an era for the retail center. County records show the main building dating to 1973, first as a Fred Meyer discount store then transitioning to a supermarket and neighborhood shopping center in 1985.
One commenter on Facebook said he’d made trips to the Fred Meyer store since childhood, “at least 40 years,” while another recalled it being near his grandparents house and walking to it.
“Lots of memories there. But, the area has gone downhill in recent years as well,” the commenter added.
A Tacoma SubReddit thread came to life Wednesday evening as word-of mouth accounts spread of the Tacoma closure news.
“When that store first opened it was amazing. No other stores in that era sold groceries along with clothes, shoes, hardware, lumber and toys,” one commenter posted.
Several Reddit commenters noted that the loss would be a serious blow to the surrounding neighborhoods, despite nearby Safeway and WinCo grocery stores.
“Where else can you get everything in one store?” wrote one. “Safeway doesn’t carry some of the brands I like. Honestly I never shop at WinCo.”
The vacancy will add to another loss of a major retailer serving customers in the South End and Eastside. Walgreens blamed “oversaturation” for the closure in 2024 of its site at 5602 Pacific Ave., an empty site now with a metal fence surrounding it.
“No matter how I felt about that particular FM location, its closing is most definitely a loss for the area,” another commenter wrote. “The less choices around, the worse off we all are. I hope something useful goes in that space.”
Bushnell, in his statement, noted, “While the loss of this store is a setback, we must also view it as an opportunity.”
“This is a prime commercial space in a thriving area of our city, and its vacancy opens a new chapter,” he said. “Our Community & Economic Development Department is already working to engage the property owners to begin a proactive discussion about the future of this space. We are optimistic that we can attract a new tenant, or combination of tenants, that will serve the needs of our community and re-energize this location.”
Haug didn’t mince words when it came to the site’s role in the community and the importance of maintaining it as a full-service grocery retail center. The neighborhood council plans to draft a letter to Kroger and city and county officials.
“It’s the epicenter. ... it’s literally our everything. It is our business district, that darn Fred Meyer, right there.”
The News Tribune archives contributed to this report.
This story was originally published July 25, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
