S. John Collins / Baker City HeraldRemodeling inside the Albertsons supermarket continues as Abe Campbell of Vancouver, Wash., lays flooring on the former deli-side of the store Tuesday afternoon.

UPDATE: Albertsons Communications Manager Jill McGinnis confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the former Haggen store will be opened as an Albertsons.

Although corporate officials have not confirmed it, Baker City will likely have two different grocery stores this fall.

Two stores owned by one corporation, that is.

Albertsons LLC has changed its mind about what it plans to do with the empty building that most recently housed a Haggen store that closed last fall after the company declared bankruptcy.

In May the firm announced that it was going to open the store as an Albertsons.

Just over a month later, Jill McGinnis, communications manager and public affairs for the company’s Portland division, wrote in an email to the Herald that the company had decided to operate two Safeway stores in Baker City

City Manager Fred Warner Jr. and Economic Development Director Greg Smith met last week in Portland with Albertsons Vice President of Public Affairs Jonathon Mayes and McGinnis to discuss the fate of the empty store.

Warner said Mayes and McGinnis indicated that opening the empty store as an Albertsons was the direction the company was going, but he was hesitant to say for sure until the announcement was made officially.

“My understanding was they were looking very strongly at that,” Warner said.

He said he has not gotten a definitive answer from McGinnis since last week’s meeting about whether the former Haggen store will be reopened as an Albertsons but he said there will be ongoing communication with her.

“I’m very hopeful,” Warner said. “I don’t know it’s the best, but I think its probably better for the community if there are two separate stores.”

Smith seemed more confident that the store will become an Albertsons.

“There will most definitely be both an Albertsons and a Safeway store in Baker City,” he said.

Smith and Warner expressed the community’s concerns, which include a fear of a monopoly by the giant corporation and lack of choice resulting in some traveling out of town for other grocery options. High grocery prices as well as crowding at Safeway since it has been the only grocery store in town were other concerns they expressed.

“I think they listened,” Smith said.

Warner worries that it might be easier for the company to close one of two stores that have the same name in the future — creating job loss — than if there are two stores with different names.

“I have heard that from other people in the area as well,” he said.

The ability of Baker City to support two stores was a concern of the Albertsons officials, according to Smith. Mayes and McGinnis were not available for comment.

“What I want is for it to be kind of a win-win for the community and that it works for the grocery conglomerate to where we can have two stores in Baker City long term,” Warner said. “I believe we can support two stores.”

Smith and Warner explained it will be incumbent for shoppers to spend their dollars at both stores and not take their money out of the area.

“I don’t like to see leakage to La Grande and Ontario,” Warner said. “The more we can keep people in Baker City, the better off we are.”

He said that leakage of dollars includes money that would be spent at other businesses in Baker City as well.

Warner said when community residents go out of town to shop for groceries, they might also shop at other types of businesses while they are there, which takes even more money away from the local economy.

Smith and Warner also relayed another concern by community members. People assert that in spite of two differently named stores in town, it will still be a monopoly because they are owned by the same company.

“We can’t deny that’s the case,” Smith said. “But in the end we have to deal with the cards we have been dealt. At least we’ll have two stores.”

He understands that many people still have a problem with one corporation owning both grocery stores in town. But Smith said he believes local support is key to both staying open.

See more in the July 27,2016 issue of the Baker City Herald.