Employees at stores in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties are now on the picket line. The strike is impacting 77 stores in the state, covering about 10,000 workers. King Soopers and City Market employees had been negotiating a renewed union contract with King Soopers since last fall, but talks stalled and unionized workers at Kroger-owned stores across a handful of Colorado locations held strike votes last week. Over 95 percent of Denver King Soopers workers voted to strike; statewide, 96 percent of workers voted to authorize a strike.
Specific allegations include illegal interrogation and surveillance of union members, a refusal to provide sales data to the union, threatening or disciplining employees for wearing union buttons and other union-related gear, and proposing to take away $8 million in retiree health benefit funds in exchange for higher worker wages. According to Kroger, the National Labor Relations Board has not yet ruled on the union’s allegations; on February 7, the company filed suit against the union.
While the workers are out, check out these essays by Westword staffers and contributors about their favorite King Soopers stores.
King Soopers
5050 East Arapahoe Avenue, Centennial
As a resident of the Northside before my particular section was dubbed LoHi, I spent a lot of time at the Safeway at 26th and Federal. I was there when one fellow used food stamps to buy ten packages of lube and one can of soup. I was there when they put up a monument to striking workers killed when a car crashed into the parking lot in the '90s. I was there when there were pig's feet, not guanciale, in the butcher section. And I was there when, in an odd nod to gentrification, the aisles were suddenly named after Denver streets.
Why were the diapers on Colfax Avenue?
I didn't get it, and soon switched most of my shopping to the King Soopers near my mother's home in Centennial. Not the fancy one at Orchard and Holly, which a friend from the area says they call the Cherry Creek Soopers, even though Cherry Creek is miles away. There are just too many branded lifestyle options at that store, which make me feel guilty about my decided lack of lifestyle. Instead, I rely on the King Soopers on East Arapahoe, where the workers are unfailingly friendly, the prices sometimes weirdly lower than at other stores, and an odd little cart in the back stocked with special discounts on things I never knew I needed, but definitely do not qualify as lifestyle.
This is the King Soopers where employee Santino Burrola chased shoplifters out into the parking lot to video them taking off with pilfered detergent — and was fired by Kroger as thanks (even as an Arapahoe County deputy credited him with helping capture the culprits).
During the strike, I'll be thinking of Burralo and all the other workers who made this my store. I'll be back...but not for two weeks. — Patricia Calhoun
A photo of striking workers near the entrance to a King Soopers store during their last strik in 2022.
UFCW United Latinos via UFCW Local7
1155 East Ninth Avenue
If you want to be violently overstimulated and nearly run over by someone’s shopping cart at least three times in the span of 45 minutes, look no further than the King Soopers at Ninth and Downing — or Queen Soopers, as we Cap Hill residents like to call it.
Sure, you could opt for a more subdued grocery run at the nearest Safeway (or a cheaper but more infuriating one in which everyone behaves as if they are experiencing a grocery store for the very first time in their lives at the nearest Trader Joe’s), but you can’t buy dog food at Trader Joe’s, and I don’t know about you, but something about the disembodied robot voice that calmly reads each item and its exorbitant price in the self-checkout at Safeway gives me an existential crisis.
If the Queen Soopers parking lot is full, no worries! There’s another one across the street. But to get there, you’re either going to have to spend the next several minutes circling back around the block or drive the wrong way down a one-way, which we can’t condone. (Pro tip: Don’t even bother with the main lot. Just park in the one across the street.)
Most of the time, I have no idea what to expect when I walk into Queen Soopers. There may or may not be available carts. The automatic door may or may not be working. There may or may not be some kind of new security measure that feels a little overkill. I might make eye contact with someone’s dog in the produce department. But this is my neighborhood grocery store, and I love my neighborhood.
Queen Soopers is one of the few places in Denver proper that hasn’t yet been completely gentrified. Shopping here feels like grocery shopping in a city: It’s small, there’s a little grime and sometimes you really gotta check expiration dates (and the broccoli for aphids, which I learned the hard way). But there’s always an interesting range of people — everyone from the usual Patagonia-clad ski bros and Cap Hill brand of standoffish alt hotties to children racing down the seasonal aisle and someone’s kindly grandpa walking at a snail’s pace in front of you.
The self-checkout employees are the real MVPs, though, serenely surveying the chaos and sending everyone on their way. I remember once, as it often does, the self-checkout flagged me for something or other and locked me out with its “Help is on the way” message. “I don’t know what I did,” I said to the employee who punched a code in and cleared the message so I could continue checking out. “I don’t know either,” he shrugged, sauntering away to put out the next fire. — Kristen Fiore
King Soopers
4600 Leetsdale Drive
The island of Glendale is the ideal shopping spot after you trade in your singles card and move from that chic downtown loft into a three-bedroom, two-bath east of Colorado Boulevard. This municipality boasts the best Home Depot in the metro area for all your DIY needs. (Back in your single days, if you were really adventurous and had enough time, there was Bed, Bath and Beyond.)
The cherry on the sundae, of course, is a stop at the King Soopers on Leetsdale. This store is affectionately known by locals as "King Soopers at Creekside." The jewel of the Kroger brand, it offers one-stop shopping complete with a gas station, pharmacy, liquor store, Starbucks, sushi bar, salad bar, bakery, fresh seafood market, deli and a giant parking lot open to all.
Nowadays, every grocery store can sell wine and beer. The Creekside King Soopers was the OG, with all your favorite flavors of alcohol — including a great selection of airplane shooters conveniently located at the checkout.
This King Soopers really does satisfy all needs. Last Christmas, the pharmacy section overflowed with toys — including $.25 Hot Wheels. Parents and toddlers alike spent hours going through the giant tub, looking over the classic stocking stuffers.
Yes, shopping here really is a family affair. Ironically, Glendale was once the swingin' singles center of metro Denver. — Evan Semon
King Soopers
1331 Speer Boulevard
Shopping at this King Soopers feels like you're going in a cave inexplicably lit by fluorescent lightbulbs inside — but that's exactly what makes it so fun. Going to this King Soopers feels like a quest every time.
To get there, you have to battle the gauntlet of traffic and weird turns and one-way streets Then, you must find a spot in the parking garage and luck out by snagging one of the carts, which always seem to be in short supply. But once you fight those battles, the reward is sweet: aisles and aisles of food, deals and random, amazing scented candles I haven't been able to find anywhere else.
I've descended on this King Soopers when a 9 p.m. cake craving hit and I needed to buy box mix and way-too-sugary frosting with sprinkles ASAP, as well as in the middle of the day when I desperately needed a can of Coke to keep me going. I've even hit these shelves in the early morning on my way to the mountains for some outdoor recreation, which I absolutely cannot do without snacks. No matter the hour, the employees offer a kind smile — as long as you aren't obviously trying to steal anything.
The location of this King Soopers store has an added perk: You might see one of Denver's professional athletes shopping, too. Ball Arena, where the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche play, is just up Speer, and many members of the Nuggets are known to live in the fancy apartment buildings between this King Soopers and the arena. Groceries with a side of celebrity people watching? Yes, please.
But I won’t be doing any people watching at this store until the strike ends, celebrity or otherwise. — Catie Cheshire
Do you have a favorite King Soopers store? Where will you shop during the strike?
