Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday appointed 14 local officials to a task force that will work to find new owners for Dominick’s stores left vacant when Safeway closes the division later this week.
The task force members include deputy mayor Steven Koch and other city officials; United Food and Commercial Workers union representatives Jorge Ramirez and Steve Powell; and Mike Mallon, a food industry consultant and former vice president at Jewel-Osco and Dominick’s.
As previously reported, Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif., plans to close all of its remaining Dominick’s stores Saturday. The wind-down included sales of four locations to Jewel-Osco and 11 stores to Roundy’s for conversion to the Mariano's Fresh Market banner. Safeway is reportedly in negotiations to sell additional units to other retailers, including 10 to the Central Grocers cooperative.
The task force is seeking to identify new users for the unsold sites and market the properties to ensure the availability of fresh foods in the markets where Dominick’s stores are closing.
