Haggen pulling up stakes in Laguna and California

The shelves were stocked and the sound of shopping carts rattled through the parking lot Friday, but Haggen Inc.’s days in Laguna Beach are numbered.

The Bellingham, Wash., grocery chain announced Thursday it was closing all 67 of its stores in California, including the one at 30922 S. Coast Hwy. across from the Montage Laguna Beach. The store had been operating for less than a year.

Haggen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month and will focus its efforts on 37 core stores in the Pacific Northwest. The company, which bills itself as a provider of high-quality meat and seafood and organic produce, had opened nine Orange County stores, including Corona del Mar and Irvine locations.

Company officials didn’t indicate an exact closing date for the Laguna Beach store, but said stores throughout the state would begin closing in the next 60 days, according to a news release issued Thursday.

Management at the Laguna store declined to comment and referred all inquiries to Haggen’s corporate office. It is unknown how many employees work at the Laguna Beach store.

Store employees will receive notices of the pending closure and maintain pay and benefits “through the normal course of business as approved by the court,” the release said. “Haggen is supportive of employees securing work elsewhere and is continuing to work with Albertsons in its request for the Federal Trade Commission to waive the restriction in the FTC order which restricts hiring of Haggen employees.”

Officials of Haggen and Albertsons have been at odds in the past month. Haggen sued Albertsons for what it said were systematic efforts to eliminate the former as a competitor in five states, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Haggen accused Albertsons of sabotage shortly after Albertsons, which denied the allegation, sold the stores.

Before the suit, Albertsons accused Haggen of fraud for failing to pay $41 million for inventory it acquired in the new stores, according to the Times.

Customers outside the Laguna Haggen on Friday said the store offered a convenient option, but had drawbacks.

“I always felt Haggen was overpriced, though they were coming down on some items,” Laguna resident Pam Feldman said. “Just [Friday] I was thinking I wanted to go to Ralphs [on Cleo Street] because it is cheaper, but came here instead. [Haggen] put their best foot forward. I feel sorry for them.”

Feldman said she isn’t worried about another business moving into the spot.

“Something else is going to be here,” she said. “This is a prime location. I don’t think we’re going to be out of a store for very long.”