A potentially interesting development, per Reuter's:

A handful of buyout firms, including Cerberus Capital Management LP, are exploring a deal for all or part of supermarket chain Safeway Inc (SWY.N), according to people familiar with the matter, in what could potentially shape up to be one of the largest leveraged buyouts since the financial crisis.

Activist investor Jana Partners LLC reported a 6.2 percent stake in Safeway in September, saying the company's shares are undervalued, and it held talks with Safeway management about reviewing strategic alternatives.

In response to Jana's disclosure, Safeway had adopted a so-called poison pill to prevent an unwanted takeover of the company. Its board also had authorized $2 billion in stock repurchases and announced plans to exit the Chicago market.

Deliberations over a potential buyout are at an early stage, and it remains unclear if a bid will materialize for Safeway.

Exclusive: Cerberus, others explore deal for Safeway - sources

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The sources that I have read give me the impression that Kroger's will buy some of the locations for an expansion of its discount chain.

HyVee and Schnuck's are not entering the market at this point.

i do not believe that WalMart's entry into the market precipitated Dominick's decline as it was in full decline before a single Walmart Supercenter opened in the Chicagoland area. Egads, they were declining when the nearest WalMart stores were in DeKalb and Rockford.

I have never found a compelling reason to step into a Dominick's store other than my Saturday coffee and bagel and all the marked down goods which provided a never ending stop of 20 cent yogurts and teh like.

If Cerberus buys Safeway, I wonder if they will turn every Chicagoland Dominick's into a Jewel so as to nearly double their market share. (If they don't, I wonder how much more time it will take before Mariano's is the market leader. And maybe Cerberus is thinking this, too.)

riddlemay wrote:If Cerberus buys Safeway, I wonder if they will turn every Chicagoland Dominick's into a Jewel so as to nearly double their market share. (If they don't, I wonder how much more time it will take before Mariano's is the market leader. And maybe Cerberus is thinking this, too.)

They really cannot do that. Many of the remaining Dominick's stores are adjacent to Jewel-Osco stores (+/- 0.5 miles). Besides, they would run into some major anti-trust issues at this point.

jlawrence01 wrote:

riddlemay wrote:If Cerberus buys Safeway, I wonder if they will turn every Chicagoland Dominick's into a Jewel so as to nearly double their market share. (If they don't, I wonder how much more time it will take before Mariano's is the market leader. And maybe Cerberus is thinking this, too.)

They really cannot do that. Many of the remaining Dominick's stores are adjacent to Jewel-Osco stores (+/- 0.5 miles). Besides, they would run into some major anti-trust issues at this point.

Re adjacency, maybe they would buy Safeway for the partial purpose of making sure that no Dominick's that is next to a Jewel becomes some other supermarket like a Mariano's. It could be worth it to Cerberus just to take those locations off the supermarket-table altogether, turning over the real estate to developers who promise to build anything but a supermarket--thereby increasing Jewel's market share by default and putting a roadblock in the way of Mariano's expansion.

Re anti-trust, I'd think that if this is an issue, it's an issue because of the national implications of a Cerberus buyout of Safeway, not because of the Chicagoland implications. But what do I know?

Unsold Dominick's stores to close around Dec. 28

Dominick's stores that aren’t sold to competing grocers will close on or around Dec. 28, the store's parent company said in a letter to employees.

A spokeswoman for Dominick’s parent, California-based Safeway, said Thursday that the letters were sent to employees in accordance with state and federal laws regarding business changes that will lead to the potential loss of jobs.

In Illinois, employers with more than 100 employees are required to give 60 days' notice of possible layoffs under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining (WARN) Act when third of the workforce or more than 500 people could be affected.

So much for their claim that the stores would stay open until the leases expired.

Artie wrote:Unsold Dominick's stores to close around Dec. 28

Dominick's stores that aren’t sold to competing grocers will close on or around Dec. 28, the store's parent company said in a letter to employees.

A spokeswoman for Dominick’s parent, California-based Safeway, said Thursday that the letters were sent to employees in accordance with state and federal laws regarding business changes that will lead to the potential loss of jobs.

In Illinois, employers with more than 100 employees are required to give 60 days' notice of possible layoffs under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining (WARN) Act when third of the workforce or more than 500 people could be affected.

So much for their claim that the stores would stay open until the leases expired.

When and why would they have said that? The stores are on multi-year leases (I'd imagine many extend another ten years or more) and presumably all have different terms. There's no way they would keep the stores open until each lease expired.

I flipped back to the articles that came out when this was announced and they all said that Safeway wanted to exit the market by 2014 and that unsold stores would be closed by year-end.

spinynorman99 wrote:

Artie wrote:So much for their claim that the stores would stay open until the leases expired.

When and why would they have said that? The stores are on multi-year leases (I'd imagine many extend another ten years or more) and presumably all have different terms. There's no way they would keep the stores open until each lease expired.

I flipped back to the articles that came out when this was announced and they all said that Safeway wanted to exit the market by 2014 and that unsold stores would be closed by year-end.

I don't know where I read or heard it but I'm positive that I did,and I too have looked for a reference to it to no avail. Your explanation does make more sense.

Pardon my ignorance regarding commercial real estate--

What exactly did Jewel "buy" when they committed to take over the four "sold" stores? Surely, they wouldn't have agreed to offer goodwill money to Safeway in light of the fact that they announced that they were leaving the market. Wouldn't it make more sense to wait until Dominick's vacates the stores and then deal directly with landlords? I would think that better terms could be negotiated, or is it the case that potential "buyers" are subletting from Safeway? Someone please educate me--

cito wrote:Pardon my ignorance regarding commercial real estate--

What exactly did Jewel "buy" when they committed to take over the four "sold" stores? Surely, they wouldn't have agreed to offer goodwill money to Safeway in light of the fact that they announced that they were leaving the market. Wouldn't it make more sense to wait until Dominick's vacates the stores and then deal directly with landlords? I would think that better terms could be negotiated, or is it the case that potential "buyers" are subletting from Safeway? Someone please educate me--

I wondered that, too, and the only "logical explanation" I could come up with is that the four properties Jewel called dibs on were highly desirable ones that Jewel wanted to lock in ASAP, rather than wait for the bidding war with Mariano's that might develop later.

riddlemay wrote:

cito wrote:Pardon my ignorance regarding commercial real estate--

What exactly did Jewel "buy" when they committed to take over the four "sold" stores? Surely, they wouldn't have agreed to offer goodwill money to Safeway in light of the fact that they announced that they were leaving the market. Wouldn't it make more sense to wait until Dominick's vacates the stores and then deal directly with landlords? I would think that better terms could be negotiated, or is it the case that potential "buyers" are subletting from Safeway? Someone please educate me--

I wondered that, too, and the only "logical explanation" I could come up with is that the four properties Jewel called dibs on were highly desirable ones that Jewel wanted to lock in ASAP, rather than wait for the bidding war with Mariano's that might develop later.

My guess is that Jewel assumed the existing leases and union contracts (and probably the existing fixtures) and will continue to operate the stores pretty much as is under the Jewel brand.

Hi= For those people that live out that way, I heard yesterday that the Dominick's at Dempster and Waukegan in Morton Grove is being torn down along with the rest of the shopping center there, and they are putting up condos, which they are going to have a hard time selling. I know in Evanston anyway, there were too many condo buildings built, and the market is flooded. The closest grocery stores to Dempster and Waukegan are going to be Aldi's and Walmart on Golf since the Jewel closed. I believe that Fresh Farms is opening up where Jewel used to be on Golf though. I am not sure when they are opening up though. Hope this helps, Nancy

NFriday wrote:Hi= For those people that live out that way, I heard yesterday that the Dominick's at Dempster and Waukegan in Morton Grove is being torn down along with the rest of the shopping center there, and they are putting up condos, which they are going to have a hard time selling.

Interested where you may have gotten this information. I live in the village and am active in local politics, and haven't heard even a rumor in regard to this. That property is included in a "TIF" area, meant specifically for future commercial use.

cito wrote:Pardon my ignorance regarding commercial real estate--

What exactly did Jewel "buy" when they committed to take over the four "sold" stores? Surely, they wouldn't have agreed to offer goodwill money to Safeway in light of the fact that they announced that they were leaving the market. Wouldn't it make more sense to wait until Dominick's vacates the stores and then deal directly with landlords? I would think that better terms could be negotiated, or is it the case that potential "buyers" are subletting from Safeway? Someone please educate me--

I'm pretty sure those four stores were corporate owned (not leased) so Jewel bought the real estate and are free to do whatever they'd like with it.

Hi- I thought I deleted the message shortly after I posted it, but I guess I did not. I should have researched it before I posted it instead of after. When I further researched it, I ran across the TIF, with some of the businesses requesting that the shopping center be spruced up, and there was no mention of any condo building being built. The person that gave me the misinformation lives in the neighborhood, and so I assume she knew what she was talking about. Sorry.

NFriday wrote: The closest grocery stores to Dempster and Waukegan are going to be Aldi's and Walmart on Golf since the Jewel closed. I believe that Fresh Farms is opening up where Jewel used to be on Golf though. I am not sure when they are opening up though. Hope this helps, Nancy

Mariano's will be building on Waukegan just north of Golf where Avon was located. Heinen's will be opening on the site of the former Dominick's on Waukegan in Glenview.

Per the Tribune: Mariano's owner Roundy's buying 11 Dominick's stores

The locations being purchased are:

• Park Ridge: 1900 S. Cumberland Ave.
• Western Springs: No. 14 Garden Market Street
• Chicago: 3145 S. Ashland Ave.
• Chicago: 2021 W. Chicago Ave.
• Northfield: 1822 Willow Rd.
• Westchester: 3020 S. Wolf Rd.
• Buffalo Grove: 450 Half Day Rd.
• Chicago: 5201 N. Sheridan Rd.
• Gurnee: 6655 Grand Ave.
• Aurora: 3025 E. New York St.
• Shorewood: 950 Brook Forest Ave.

=R=

Nice to hear my local Sheridan local won't be sitting empty for too long, Dominick's was weak sauce but hyper convenient for everyday essentials. I haven't made it to a Mariano's but have heard good things. Should be a net positive.

Mariano's buys 11 Dominick's, Whole Foods said to be buying 7

Whole Foods has pursued the following seven Dominick's, sources believe:
• Chicago: 255 E. Grand Ave.
• Chicago: 1 N. Halsted St.
• Chicago: 6009 N. Broadway St.
• Chicago: 959 W. Fullerton Ave.
• Evanston: 2748 Green Bay Road
• Elmhurst: 215 S. Route 83
• Willowbrook: 6300 S. Robert Kingery Hwy. Whole Foods would close its existing Willowbrook store and move it into this Dominick's.
Other grocery players, including Cincinnati-based Kroger Inc. and Jewel-Osco parent New Albertsons Inc. (which bought four stores in October) are considering purchases. Jewel's parent, in particular, is looking at 10 additional stores.

I'll be kind of glad if WF goes into 959 W. Fullerton. 1) Because this will make it the closest WF to us and the only one we're likely to venture to on foot. 2) Because if they don't, God knows what else is going to go in there that we'll like less.

I am quite happy on a number of fronts about this news -- every time I've gone into the Park Ridge Dominick's, I have felt so bad knowing that the employees will soon be out of work. I'm just hopeful they can land jobs with Mariano's. I'm sure they will at least have a shot.

Really worried that our Palos Heights Dominick's is going to just sit empty now... was hoping for a Mariano's pick up but I guess with stores already coming in Oak Lawn and rumored Orland Park, they didn't want to be that concentrated.

I actually thought it might be a decent Whole Foods location since the closest one is Orland Park or Willowbrook.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Per the Tribune: Mariano's owner Roundy's buying 11 Dominick's stores

The locations being purchased are:

• Park Ridge: 1900 S. Cumberland Ave.
• Western Springs: No. 14 Garden Market Street
• Chicago: 3145 S. Ashland Ave.
• Chicago: 2021 W. Chicago Ave.
• Northfield: 1822 Willow Rd.
• Westchester: 3020 S. Wolf Rd.
• Buffalo Grove: 450 Half Day Rd.
• Chicago: 5201 N. Sheridan Rd.
• Gurnee: 6655 Grand Ave.
• Aurora: 3025 E. New York St.
• Shorewood: 950 Brook Forest Ave.

=R=

I'm happy that one by my house is going to be a Mariano's. It's nice to have options.

TCK wrote:Really worried that our Palos Heights Dominick's is going to just sit empty now... was hoping for a Mariano's pick up but I guess with stores already coming in Oak Lawn and rumored Orland Park, they didn't want to be that concentrated.

Perhaps Pete’s Fresh Market could take them over. They've taken over former Dominicks locations in the past,Calumet City being one of them.

Hi- I am surprised that Whole Foods would be interested in the Evanston store on Green Bay, unless they plan on closing the South Evanston store right down the street from Trader Joe's. I would rather see a Mariano's at the Green Bay location. BTW- It was mentioned on the news today that Emmanuel is going to appoint a committee to see if they can find new owners for the unclaimed Dominick's stores in Chicago.

I'm really worried about the Lake street location in Oak Park
If it closes there won't be anything close in that neighborhood except the Jewel on Madison which isn't too good itself.
The employees at the Lake street store are unaware of any potential buyers when I asked and they really seem understandably upset.
It was never a great store but they've made an effort to improve in the last few years, enough to get my business back, and I hate to think of the folks I've gotten to know there out of work.

Hi- I heard that most of the Dominick's stores right now have 50% off on all their nonfood stuff. It would be a good time to get kitchen stuff such as pyrex measuring cups. I was at the Evanston Green Bay store today, and I did not see anything marked down. I am going to try to hit the Dempster/Dodge location tomorrow morning. Next Friday all of the food items are going to be marked 50% off at most of the Dominick's stores.

NFriday wrote:Hi- I heard that most of the Dominick's stores right now have 50% off on all their nonfood stuff. It would be a good time to get kitchen stuff such as pyrex measuring cups. I was at the Evanston Green Bay store today, and I did not see anything marked down. I am going to try to hit the Dempster/Dodge location tomorrow morning. Next Friday all of the food items are going to be marked 50% off at most of the Dominick's stores.

Thanks for the heads-up. I was surprised that there was a Dominick's ad in the local mailer I get.

Hi- It is mostly the Dominick's stores that are not being taken over by Mariano's, Whole Foods and Jewel that are having this sale. At one of the couponing blogs I post at, somebody said that one of the Dominick's, I believe in the West Loop, was reducing their beer, and on the news last night, they were showing empty shelves. I am not sure if it was reduced 50% or less. From what I understand most of the Dominick's that are being taken over, are staying open until the end of January, and that is why you saw the sale ad. They use the same ad as Safeway.

When I went to the Dominick's on Dempster and Dodge in Evanston, all the health and beauty, candy and cooking equipment were 50% off. The diapers were 95% gone, and a lot of the cooking stuff was really picked over. Then had tons of bottles of vitamins and supplements and conditioner.

Some shoppers are being told that the food is going to go to 50% off this Friday at their particular store, and I have heard that it gets to be a zoo then. I asked about that at the Dempster/Dodge store, and they were unable to confirm that. Right now they have butterball turkey on sale for $.69 a pound through 12/25, and JennyO turkey on sale for $.49 a pound, and so 50% of that would be a really good deal. All the stores that are not being taken over, are set to close on 12/28.

For those Dominick's shoppers that go to stores that are not going to be taken over, I would suggest that you call your particular store on Friday, and see if they have marked down the food, to save yourself an unnecessary trip there. I know that there are some people here that will not set foot inside a Dominick's, but there are also some people that regularly shop there, that might be interested in this information. Hope this helps, Nancy

NFriday wrote:For those Dominick's shoppers that go to stores that are not going to be taken over, I would suggest that you call your particular store on Friday, and see if they have marked down the food, to save yourself an unnecessary trip there. I know that there are some people here that will not set foot inside a Dominick's, but there are also some people that regularly shop there, that might be interested in this information. Hope this helps, Nancy

I was in the Crystal Lake store on Saturday AM. Most of the non-food items that were marked down 50%, were pretty well picked over. I saw no great bargains.

In all departments, there is about 50% of the stock in the store that you would expect to see normally. My gut reaction based on the hundreds of store liquidations that I have seen is that the Crystal Lake store will NOT make it to December 28th as there is not that much food left to get rid of.