Tim Leeds Havre Daily News tleeds@havredailynews.com
While service is expected to continue almost uninterrupted in the building housing the Havre Albertsons, shoppers and employees say they will miss the local grocery store once its doors close for business at noon Tuesday. “I’m sad to see Albertsons close and only have one grocery store,” said Andrea Melle of Havre. Melle said she likes the products and sales the store offers, but she will mostly miss seeing the staff. “I like the people,” she said. “They are really nice.” SUPERVALU, the company that owns the Albertsons chain, announced in March of this year it was selling the Havre store to Gary & Leo’s Fresh Foods, the only other full grocery store in town. Tracy Job, manager of Gary & Leo’s, said last week that the grocery will reopen in the Albertsons location two days after Albertsons closes. “We will open at their location Thursday morning,” Job said, adding that Gary & Leo’s will stay open at its 15 West First Street location through Wednesday. The pharmacy service offered at Albertsons won’t even see the one-day disruption. Job said the new Healthmart Pharmacy in the Albertsons building will be open Wednesday, staffed by the current employees of the Osco Pharmacy in Albertsons. “They are all on board,” Job said. A century of service While Gary & Leo’s business will continue at the Albertsons location, the closure marks the end of more than a century of retail service in Havre and the area started by Frank Buttrey early last century. In 1902, Buttrey moved his store from Chimney Creek to Havre, calling it the Fair Deal Store. After his building burnt down in a fire in 1904, he announced he would build a new store on the corner of Second Street and Third Avenue, where it operated until the Havre department store by then a multi-state chain was closed and the building was purchased and reopened as the Atrium Shopping Mall. The grocery business continued in the adjoining building which now houses Office Equipment Co. And Liberty Rental and Payday Loans until it moved to the newly constructed building on Seventh and First early in the 1980s. Donna Eggers, an Albertsons public affairs manager, said Albertsons bought the Buttreys grocery stores in 1999, when the name of the Havre store was changed. SUPERVALU bought the Albertsons chain in 2006, she said. Corporate actions Albertsons is closing several stores in the region including Montana. One of the Albertsons in Great Falls closed in April, and Eggers said the company has also closed two in Washington and two in Utah. “SUPERVALU/Albertsons continuously evaluates its stores to identify opportunities to strengthen its overall business,” she said in a prepared release. “While the decision to close a store is always difficult given the impact on associates and customers it is guided by what is best for the company’s ongoing success and future growth.” Most of the employees at Albertsons have found other work, including some who are going to work for Gary & Leo’s, said Kevin Woods, the assistant store director at Albertsons who went to work for the store 18 years ago while it was still Buttreys. “A handful don’t have jobs, 10 or 12,” he said, adding that only one of the about 75 employees is transferring to work at another Albertsons store. Job said about 12 are going to work for Gary & Leo’s, which was all but a couple who were interviewed by the company. The store will have about 100 to 110 employees in the Seventh Avenue and First Street location, he said. Woods said the Havre Job Service Work Force Center has been working closely with the Albertsons employees to help them find jobs, and is continuing to hold meetings with the employees. He also said Albertsons has treated the employees well, offering a severance package and helping in the transition. Gary & Leo’s has also treated them well also, he said. “They took care of a few people who really needed it,” Added meat manager Dan Carpenter. A bittersweet ending While employees and customers at Albertsons Friday seemed to be resigned to the change, they said they would miss the store, mostly because of the familiar faces they know there. “(I’m) going to miss the family-ness of the team,” Woods said. “We’re just a big family,” agreed Carpenter, who went to work for Buttreys 19 years ago. The employees have organized a “Store Closing Blowout Party” for Tuesday after the store closes, to celebrate the time spent serving the Havre area. All current and former Albertsons and Buttreys employees and their families have been invited to the Tip It in North Havre from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. The festivities will include karaoke, darts, pool, horseshoes and snacks and refreshments. Woods said the employees have been dedicated and loyal, working with little turnover to provide years of service to the community. Customers also said they will miss the staff. Leanna Johnson of Zurich said she can continue to shop at the Albertsons in Harlem, but she comes to Havre to shop at its Albertsons and Gary & Leo’s as well. She will miss Albertsons’ service, she said. “The workers here have always been kind and helpful,” she said. Store director Tom Duff said the employees have excelled in his main objective making the transition as easy for the customers as possible. “We’re trying to let people keep shopping right up to the end and it’s going well,” he said. “(The employees) have been just great.” Many customers interviewed Friday said they will be able to continue their shopping at Gary & Leo’s many said they already shop at both stores they will miss the people. Val Messineo, who has worked at Albertsons for eight years, said the same. “I’m going to miss the people,” she said. “My co-workers are all great.” One grocery store left Customers Friday said they believe Gary & Leo’s and the grocery offerings at Wal-mart will probably be able to provide enough service to the Havre area, although they added that it will mean less variety. Messineo said that is her main concern with the sale, although it seems to be the way of the modern world in all fields. “It’s just sad to see that everything is condensing down to one business instead of having choices,” she said. The sale and closure is the tail end of a shrinking supply of grocery stores in the area, as bigger buildings and larger offerings have taken up the services offered by several smaller stores. In the late 1970s, Havre’s grocery stores including Buttreys, a Safeway the building now housing Gary & Leo’s was originally built to house a larger Safeway store an IGA and Western Warehouse as well as several smaller groceries. Now the town will have Gary & Leo’s Wal-Mart and Kmarts’ grocery selections, along with smaller stores like McLean’s Grocery and convenience stores. The move should benefit Gary & Leo’s, Don Christopherson of Havre said. “The good part is they’re moving from there to the center of town,” he said. “ I think that’s a good idea. I think this location is better.” Job said the transition will involve some remodeling and upgrades of the location which also has more space than the 15 West First Street location once things are settled. “Our first concern is to move all our product and equipment in from this location,” he said. “After that we plan to do some upgrading.” Job and owner Gary Leland said they do not know what will happen at the current Gary & Leo’s location, although Leland said he expects the owner will try to lease it back out. The owner, listed at the Hill County Clerk and Recorder’s Office as Rainier Sunwest Portfolio, could not be reached for comment by this morning. Time will tell if the remaining stores will be able to handle the demand. “I’m concerned for the community,” Carpenter said. “Can one store handle it?” Woods agreed. “I think it’s a big loss,” he said. “Competition is what we need in this town.”
