Arvada's Only Safeway Closes by Nov. 14, on a Corner That Keeps Three Grocers and Has a Fourth on the Way

King Soopers runs seven grocery stores in Arvada. Safeway runs one. That one store sits at 7561 W. 80th Avenue, across the street from a King Soopers, and Safeway has announced it will close permanently by Nov. 14, 2026.

On the map, the corner barely changes. A King Soopers, a Sprouts and a Natural Grocers are all within a few blocks on Wadsworth Boulevard, and a Whole Foods is under construction diagonally across the intersection. What Arvada really loses is its only Safeway. If you shop there for the Safeway brand or fill prescriptions at its pharmacy, your next nearest option is outside the city.

From One Safeway in Arvada to None

The Arvada Press reported that the decision followed a review of the store's performance, and that this Safeway "has long competed with a King Soopers directly across the street." Heather Halpape, Safeway's director of communications and public affairs for the Mountain West Market, said in a statement quoted by the Arvada Press that "every effort will be made to transfer associates to one of our other Safeway stores throughout the Denver metro area." The Denver Post also covered the closure on Oct. 12.

Jefferson County was left alone the last time Safeway trimmed its Colorado stores. A year earlier, the chain announced 10 closures around the state, and the Arvada Press notes that none of them were in Jefferson County.

After Nov. 14, the two Safeways closest to Arvada are:

• Wheat Ridge, 3900 Wadsworth Boulevard, a straight drive south on the same road
• Denver, 3800 W. 44th Avenue

For a household near 80th Avenue, that changes the trip from crossing the intersection to driving roughly 40 blocks down Wadsworth. That distance matters most to people who rely on things only a Safeway offers, and the biggest of those is the pharmacy.

The Pharmacy Counter Comes First

Safeway's own pharmacy page lists an on-site pharmacy at 7561 W. 80th Ave., with prescription fills, refills and a prescription-transfer option. The company's public statement about the closure covered moving employees to other stores. It did not say where this store's prescriptions will go or whether the pharmacy will close before the rest of the store.

So if you have recurring prescriptions at this counter, ask before the store closes. The pharmacist on duty can tell you where your records will be sent. If you'd prefer a different pharmacy, the store's pharmacy page has the transfer option. Checking with a few weeks to spare is much easier than discovering the problem when a refill is due the week of Nov. 14.

What Stays Within a Few Blocks

Once the pharmacy question is settled, the grocery run itself barely moves. Here is what's left around 80th and Wadsworth, using the names each chain gives its store:

You can check each store's hours and services on its own page: King Soopers Lake Arbor, Sprouts and Natural Grocers.

Among the five, King Soopers Lake Arbor is the only full-line supermarket across the street once Safeway closes. Sprouts and Natural Grocers sit in the same block near 77th, a short distance south. The Whole Foods is the newest store on the list, and the one with the most open questions.

The Whole Foods Has Been in the Works Since 2023

The Whole Foods is planned for 7815 Wadsworth Boulevard, the former Hobby Lobby site kitty-corner from the closing Safeway. It will be Whole Foods' first store in Arvada. The developer, Kimco Realty, calls the property Northridge S.C. – Arvada.

Most people first heard about it in early 2025. Denverite reported at the end of January 2025 that the store showed up in city planning documents and that the development application had been filed in 2023. On Feb. 5, 2025, BusinessDen reported that a company spokesperson had confirmed a nearly 40,000-square-foot store. Kimco's site plans called for tearing down the existing building, putting up a one-story store and renovating the fronts of two nearby retail buildings to match it. Whole Foods did not give an opening date.

The best public record of progress since then is the City of Arvada's permit file. Its project record for "Northridge Shopping Center Amendment No. 5 (Whole Foods)" shows the project as "UNDER CONST" and lists these linked permits:

1. Development application, applied Aug. 28, 2023, now marked under construction
2. Commercial permit COMM24-00132, issued
3. Foundation-only permit FND25-00024, finaled
4. Site disturbance permit SITE25-00005, issued
5. Development right-of-way permit DEV25-00004, under construction
6. Post-construction permit PCBMP26-00002, applied

A finaled foundation permit and an issued commercial permit mean work has moved from paperwork onto the site. None of the city's entries includes an opening date, and Whole Foods hasn't announced one. Until it does, the Whole Foods is something to watch across the intersection, not a replacement for the Safeway.

Your Grocery Run After Nov. 14

How much changes depends on why you went to that Safeway:

1. For the pharmacy, ask about prescription transfers now, while the counter is still staffed.
2. For Safeway's brand and its products, the Wheat Ridge store at 3900 Wadsworth Boulevard is the closest, and the Denver store at 3800 W. 44th Avenue is the other nearby option.
3. For a full-size supermarket at the same corner, King Soopers Lake Arbor at 8031 Wadsworth is directly across the street.
4. For natural and specialty groceries, Sprouts at 7725 Wadsworth and Natural Grocers at 7745 Wadsworth are open now near 77th, and Whole Foods at 7815 Wadsworth will join them when it opens.

There has been no public announcement about the next use of the Safeway building at 7561 W. 80th Avenue, so for now the corner will have a closed Safeway on one side and a Whole Foods under construction on the other.

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