Hearing rumor that Swanson's will close the "middle" store, on Simpson in Aberdeen, at the end of the month.

Hadn't heard the rumor. But, I won't be surprised.

Bad economy + Wally World = 1 too many. I expected it if the Super Store comes.

I don't think it's all economy/Wally World - I stopped shopping there because of selling out dated products on the shelf and frozen foods that had been partly thawed and refrozen.

I have to agree. I bet Safeway has more to do with their demise than WalMart.

Last night at Safeway I had to park almost at the service station because they were packed. I went by Swansons on my way home and there might have been a dozen cars. Safeway is definitely winning.

With the death of the elder Swansons, Mark inherited the stores but not all the buildings they are in. The rent he pays might be part of the reason to close the downtown store.

Someone suggested that mopping the 40-year-old linoleum once in a while might be a good idea, and Swanson said "nah, I'll close the store instead."

DW says "a new lease couldn't be negotiated".

You would have heard last night. YOu can thank me that your share of the beer wasn't wasted. Grizzly old Swanson chick was upset over the one paragraph announcement she received along with her paycheck. I withheld my natural instinct of assholedness to ask her if it was an extra kick in the junk to have paid a worthless Union all these years. Ended up too sauced to post here the news. Darn.

Family fight is what's its over. Mark should be better off with just the two.

Shitty part is the customers of that Swanson will end up going to Safeway. Grrrrrrrrrrreat! Not.

Lunch today at Southside with a Swanson employee buddy revealed the union is going to screw over the low totem employees of HTown and Southside and replace them with seniority staffers of middle. Grizzly old chick is out of a job. Hopefully my neighbor makes the save.

I was at the GHC Jazz Concert. Sounds like it was an interesting meeting.

Thanks for holding up my end of the consumption requirement.

This is an example of why founders of family businesses need to have clear succession plans.

Family members who are not familiar with the low margins in the business want more rent, and will end up with an old empty building.

Less margin, old out-of-date stores, competition with big chains and unwillingness to change will do any "old" business in. Swanson's closing the middle Aberdeen store is as much about these things as the family squabble over rent. You can see it in their other stores.

Superstores are the in thing. Remember when Safeway had three stores just like Swansons? People are sacrificing prices for selection.

I wish Mark luck in his two remaining stores. I think he is going to need it.

This confuses me because there is rarely something I need that I can't get from the Hoquiam Swanson's. On the rare occasion I might need to go to Safeway to get something, I usually just make-do without in order to avoid the chaos there. Of course, I'm sure Mark wishes his stores were more chaotic.

The situation is sad to see. I fear it's going to be a big, old empty building for a long time to come.

You can always get "something". It is the number of "somethings" to choose from that is shocking. I virtually never go to Safeways, always Swansons except when I want something different like Safeway's excellent moist cake last Wednesday. I wondered around looking for pudding for my mother-in-law and finally gave up and went somewhere else. There is SO much stuff there.

Mega stores, mega choices. Obviously people like it there.

BTW we do shop in a super Walmart in Mexico. Where else are you going to find all your favorite American goodies?

Just read on racebook via KBKW that rental negotiations have re-opened.

I had heard speculation that the point of announcing the store's closure was to get the other side of the family (building owners) back to the table. Guess it worked. Let's hope the negotiations also work.

I hadn't heard that but was thinking the same thing.
OOPS just saw that I typed racebook and not facebook - oh well

Spoke with a Swanson's employee today. Was told negotiations were going "sideways", which I understood to mean "not well".

KXRO - End of the Line for Middle Swansons?

Looks like they've given up. I heard from someone that they've already got a potential renter lined up? Anyone else hear that?

That would be ... amazing.

Isn't the building owned by another Swanson?

The Assessor's office lists the owner as Helen L Swanson et al.

Just in via KBKW Newstalk - Middle Swansons will remain open.