Not so fast, Fred Meyer: South End set to weigh in on closure with town hall
Story has been updated with new meeting location for town hall.
The South End Neighborhood Council is organizing a town hall to discuss the imminent closure of Fred Meyer at 7250 Pacific Ave.
Residents, local business owners and “anyone who cares about the future of groceries and jobs in our community,” according to the event promotion, are invited to attend the session.
The event is planned for 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Aug. 28 at Wane + Flitch, 701 E. 72nd St., Tacoma, and is co-sponsored by SENCO and the UFCW Local 367, which represents workers at the store.
The event is aimed at not only discussing the loss of the store and its implications for store workers and nearby residents but also to hear ideas from the public on possible solutions.
Fred Meyer in July confirmed that the store would close as part of parent company Kroger’s reduction of stores nationwide over the next 18 months following its failed merger attempt with Boise-based Albertsons.
Fred Meyer’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing with the state listed 226 employees affected by the planned closure.
Cincinnati-based Kroger this week announced it had reached a settlement with New Hampshire-based C&S Wholesale Grocers, which had planned to acquire spun-off stores from the merger.
A petition on Change.org opposing the Tacoma store closure has gained more than 2,000 signatures as of Aug. 14.
Ahead of the community town hall, Tacoma City Council’s Community and Economic Development Committee is tentatively scheduled to receive an update on the store closure issue at its Aug. 26 meeting from the city’s Community & Economic Development Department.
The agenda item’s title is “Community Reinvestment Project Outcomes; Fred Meyer Site Transition - Background and City Role.”
This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 9:00 AM.
