Safeway to Close 9 Denver-area Stores

Safeway is shuttering nine grocery stores in the Denver metro area, citing poor performance, by June 13.

According to a statement from Kristine J. Staaf, director of public affairs/government relations for the company's Denver division, Safeway "evaluated these stores extensively" for more than a year, while weighing options to improve their performance.

"Ultimately, our business analysis indicated that we needed to cease operations at these locations," Staaf said. She added that the company will make efforts to place affected employees at other Safeway supermarkets.

The nine stores to close are:

• 560 Castle Pines Parkway, Castle Pines
• 3904 East 120 th Ave, Thornton
• 12900 Zuni, Westminster
• 16921 E. Quincy Ave, Aurora
• 22675 East Aurora Parkway, Aurora
• 1955 South Sheridan Blvd., Denver
• 7500 S. Pierce Street, Littleton
• 1730 S. Buckley Road, Aurora
• 8200 S. Quebec, Centennial

The news follows reports late last month speculating that Safeway parent AB Acquisition LLC may take the company public later this year - a move that could raise as much as $500 million.