Natural Grocers Closing Downtown Denver Store
Natural Grocers has revealed that it will close its Downtown Denver store at the corner of Colfax and Washington, on Oct. 31. The grocer will kick off store-wide closing sales on Friday, Oct. 4, with discounts of 10% off everything at the location. All sales will be final.
The Colfax and Washington store is one of 46 Natural Grocers locations in the company's home state of Colorado. According to Natural Grocers, the decision to close the store was reached after careful consideration of the operating challenges, among them retail theft and safety issues affecting the store’s performance.
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“We have been actively working to address the theft and safety issues impacting our store at Colfax and Washington for some time,” said Kemper Isely, co-president of Natural Grocers. “Despite our investment in security and loss prevention strategies over the years, these factors have continued to challenge our ability to operate our store safely and sustainably, and we have made the difficult decision to close our doors at this location. This was not an easy decision. We are grateful to our Crew members who have worked to provide world-class customer service in challenging circumstances and will partner with them to identify other opportunities at Natural Grocers. We remain committed to serving the Downtown Denver area, including our customers in the City Park West, Capitol Hill, Baker and Cherry Creek areas, and believe that our neighboring stores will continue to provide these communities the world-class customer service, quality and affordability for which Natural Grocers is known.”
As Isely noted, the company is working with its good4u Crew members (associates) affected by the impending closure to identify transfer opportunities to other stores. Crew members who are unable to transfer will be offered a transition package that includes severance pay and health benefits.
After the Colfax and Washington location closes, Natural Grocers customers in the area are invited to shop at the following Denver locations: Leetsdale and Alameda, RiNo – 38th and Brighton, Design District – Alameda and Broadway, Central Park, Tennyson and 38th, and Colorado and Evans.
Meanwhile, the retailer is expanding elsewhere, with a new Waco, Texas, store slated to open this winter. Last month in Waco, Natural Grocers held a special Meet & Greet event on Sept. 10 and a two-day Hiring Event on Sept 11-12.
Family-operated Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc. operates more than 160 stores in 21 states. The Lakewood, Colo.-based natural and organic grocer is No. 95 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
