For decades, a Fred Meyer store at 1111 Northeast 102nd Avenue stood as a central fixture of Portlands Gateway District.

The large building anchored daily routines for residents of the Hazlewood neighborhood and surrounding areas.

Families shopped there weekly for groceries.

Seniors relied on its pharmacy.

Workers passed through its doors every day, many for years at a time.

In September 2025, that routine came to an abrupt end.

The store closed permanently, leaving behind an empty parking lot and a vacant structure that once pulsed with steady foot traffic.

What appeared at first as a single neighborhood loss was in fact one part of a much broader corporate restructuring reshaping grocery retail across the Pacific Northwest and the United States.

The Gateway closure did not happen in isolation.

It followed a major announcement made several months earlier by Kroger, the parent company of Fred Meyer and QFC.

In June 2025, Kroger disclosed plans to close approximately sixty stores nationwide over an eighteen month period.

Company leadership described the move as necessary to improve operational efficiency and secure long term financial stability.

Kroger operates more than one hundred thirty Fred Meyer stores across Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, along with nearly sixty QFC locations.

While sixty closures represent a small percentage of total stores, the impact on individual neighborhoods losing their local grocery option is immediate and deeply felt.

To understand why these closures are occurring now, it is necessary to look back several years.

In 2022, Kroger and Albertsons announced a proposed merger valued at roughly twenty five billion dollars.

The deal would have combined two of the largest grocery chains in the country, reshaping competition in food retail.

For more than two years, the companies pursued regulatory approval while operating under uncertainty.

During that period, normal evaluation processes were slowed or paused.

According to later statements by company leadership, decisions about closing underperforming stores were deferred while the merger remained unresolved.

From a corporate planning standpoint, that approach followed a clear logic.

Closing stores during an uncertain merger process could complicate integration plans and regulatory review.

As a result, locations that may have been struggling financially continued operating longer than they otherwise might have.

In December 2024, a federal judge blocked the merger, effectively ending the deal.

The collapse marked a turning point for Kroger, which now faced a future without the anticipated scale and efficiencies of the combined company.

Within the same month, Kroger announced a stock buyback program valued at seven point five billion dollars.

The timing drew attention.

A merger intended to strengthen the company competitive position had failed, and the response was a major return of capital to shareholders rather than expanded investment in stores or infrastructure.

Whether the two decisions were directly connected or simply coincided in timing depends on interpretation.

What is clear is that the failed merger forced Kroger to reassess its strategy and financial priorities.

Six months later, that reassessment became public.

During the first quarter earnings call in June 2025, Kroger leadership confirmed plans to shutter approximately sixty stores by late 2026.

The interim chief executive officer stated that not all locations were delivering sustainable results.

Closing underperforming stores, he argued, would allow the company to focus resources on stronger locations and improve efficiency across the network.

The company also promised that affected workers would be offered opportunities at other stores where possible.

Kroger did not release a comprehensive public list of which locations would close.

Instead, communities learned about individual store decisions through state labor filings, union announcements, and local media reports.

This staggered disclosure created months of uncertainty for workers and customers alike.

Employees at stores across the country waited to see whether their workplace would appear on the next list.

Customers wondered whether their regular grocery stop would remain open or disappear with little warning.

The closure process follows legal requirements.

When a company plans to shut down a location affecting a significant number of employees, advance notice is mandated by federal and state law.

In Oregon, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers to provide at least sixty days notice before mass layoffs.

The Gateway Fred Meyer filed its notice in mid July 2025, confirming that approximately two hundred fifty employees would be affected by the closure.

Kroger stated that each worker would be offered opportunities to transfer to other stores.

Union contracts governing grocery workers in the region require placement offers based on seniority.

In practice, outcomes vary.

Some employees find comparable positions nearby, maintaining similar hours and responsibilities.

Others face longer commutes, reduced schedules, or roles that differ from their previous work.

The logistics of displacement extend beyond employment status alone.

A worker who previously walked to work may now need a vehicle.

Childcare arrangements built around specific schedules may no longer align with new shifts.

In the Hazlewood neighborhood, the Gateway closure removed a grocery store that had served the area for decades.

Residents now face longer trips to alternative locations.

For households without reliable transportation, the loss creates additional barriers to accessing affordable food and pharmacy services.

Smaller convenience stores may fill some gaps but often offer limited selection at higher prices.

Delivery services provide another option but can include fees that strain tight budgets.

Labor unions representing grocery workers have raised concerns about these impacts.

They argue that store closures disproportionately affect working class neighborhoods and communities already underserved by retail options.

In Washington State, the union representing grocery workers reported multiple Fred Meyer closures in the Puget Sound region during August 2025.

Stores in Everett, Kent, Lake City, and Redmond were scheduled to close, affecting more than seven hundred workers combined.

Several of those locations served areas with household incomes below county averages.

From the company perspective, the closures are framed as necessary adjustments.

Kroger maintains that keeping unprofitable stores open indefinitely is not viable.

Concentrating operations in higher performing locations, leadership argues, allows for better staffing, fresher inventory, and improved customer experience.

Sales from closed stores are expected to shift to nearby locations, strengthening those outlets and supporting remaining jobs.

Beyond retail stores, Kroger announced additional restructuring in November 2025.

The company disclosed plans to close three automated customer fulfillment centers located in Wisconsin, Maryland, and Florida.

These facilities were built through a partnership with a British technology firm and used robotics to pick and pack online grocery orders.

Kroger anticipated recording approximately two point six billion dollars in impairment charges related to these closures, citing performance that fell short of expectations.

The fulfillment center closures reflect a broader shift in strategy.

In recent years, grocery retailers invested heavily in centralized automation to support online ordering.

Kroger now believes that fulfilling online orders directly from stores, supplemented by third party delivery services, can be faster and more cost effective.

Five automated facilities remain in operation, and the company has stated it will continue evaluating their performance.

None of the automated facility closures occurred in Oregon, but they form part of the same restructuring effort that includes store shutdowns.

Workers at those facilities face displacement similar to retail employees, though under different circumstances.

The total number of workers affected by the fulfillment center closures varies across reports, ranging from just over one thousand to nearly seventeen hundred.

The grocery industry is navigating significant change.

Consumer expectations around convenience and digital access continue to evolve, while margins remain thin and competition intense.

Companies balance investments in technology with the realities of physical retail.

Decisions made at corporate headquarters ripple outward into neighborhoods and households.

For customers who shop at Fred Meyer or QFC in the Pacific Northwest, the implications are practical.

Store closures are occurring on a rolling basis through late 2026.

Paying attention to local announcements is essential.

Losing a nearby store may require planning for longer travel times or adjusting shopping routines.

For workers, understanding union contract provisions around transfers and seniority can shape available options.

The Gateway Fred Meyer served its neighborhood for decades.

Its closure marked the end of a familiar place and highlighted how corporate decisions translate into local change.

Kroger continues to operate hundreds of stores across the region.

Some will remain fixtures of their communities.

Others will close as the company reshapes its footprint.

For each neighborhood, the outcome depends on performance metrics far removed from daily life.

The certainty is that restructuring is ongoing, and more communities will confront similar transitions in the months ahead.